Awaiting the Next Tournament
by Crow's Stories
Summary: How would the Smashers spend their time before the SSB4 event starts?
1. Chapter 1: Leaked Pipe

_**Author's Note: Keep in mind that at the time of this writing, "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" was nearing its release date.**_

**Chapter 1: Leaked Pipe**

The Gathering Point, a huge chamber with tall, bluish-white pillars and sky blue walls adorned with the Smash logo on each side. It's a hub that connects to four different corridors. Two of them end with a portal to other universes. One leads to a door, which contains the waiting room for the unannounced veterans who came from the previous tournament. The last corridor is pretty much The Gathering Point's exit.

The Gathering Point is just like what its name implies, a place where all fighters from other universes gather and meet each other. This is also the place where the fighters are awaiting news from an entity known as The Great Creator. The news are usually related to the next Smash tournament. Everyone is always very eager for the next news nowadays, considering that the next tournament, called "The Fourth Grand Tournament" is coming closer. It's usually filled mostly with excitement.

It is, until that time…

_A few days ago…_

"Leaks! Leaks!" King Dedede was rushing through the corridor leading to The Gathering Point.

Hearing the word "leaks", everyone present in the chamber quickly turned to see the corridor where Dedede was running through. "Did somebody said leaks?!" Pit said.

"Careful, you might trip!" Zelda said to the still-running Dedede.

The penguin (or rather, penguin-like creature) is carrying a bunch of photos and a box. The fighters have been facing a lot of leaks that, while some end up being lucky guesses, are actually fake. They usually share those "leaked" photos just to have a good laugh. They know that they can only rely on The Great Creator for all the new info. However, the box looked intriguing. They had never seen anybody else running carrying something else alongside the photos prior to this. They might thought of it as an additional collection of fake photos, but they were still unsure.

As Dedede finally slipped and fall on the white floor, his photos were scattered and his box flew somewhere not far from where he fell. Link walked over and picked one of the photos. He looked surprised, even at something that is considered a leak like many others.

"Link, what's wrong?" Zelda asked. When she glanced at the photo that Link is holding, she became surprised as well.

When everybody else picked up Dedede's photos, their expression upon seeing them vary from the same surprised expression as Link and Zelda, to being mildly confused mixed with worry. Only Pit still laughed hard just like what he usually do when looking at fake leaks.

Dedede got up upon hearing Pit's laugh, saying, "This is not supposed to be funny!"

"What? It's a fake roster. Somebody seems to have too much time in their hands! Hahaha!" Pit laughed again at the photo he was holding.

"No! While by the photo itself it can be seen as a fake, but… uh… where's my box?"

"Are you looking for this?" Ike walked up to Dedede, carrying the latter's box, whose cover had been removed.

"Oh, thanks, Ike!" Dedede thanked him.

Seeing the box, Pit stopped laughing and began to question it. "Uh… what's that box?"

Dedede picked up some kind of disc from inside the box and showed it to everyone.

"It's a disc! What does it contain?" Samus asked.

"According to this thing's label, it's supposed to be… uh… a leak video."

"Leak video? That's impossible!" Pit was surprised.

"Heh. You think. I found this somewhere when I was walking outside. Yeah, you know… for looking for fake leaks to laugh at."

"…You should try checking it out." Palutena said.

When the video was being prepared, Link and Zelda were still contemplating about the photo they were holding. The photo depicts the fighters' stats after the end of the Smash Run event they've been training before. There are the familiar faces like the newcomer Lucina, Charizard who debuted from the X Tournament, which back then it was still part of Pokémon Trainer's team, and… Ganondorf? There's also another fighter who they've never seen before. Link and Zelda actually know that The Great Creator occasionally held secret training for unannounced veterans and newcomers, but who had the guts to take pictures of these things?

"I have a bad feeling about this… I mean, this is the exact status screen that we can see every time we ended a Smash Run session, but… if this is indeed part of The Great Creator's secret training…"

"But… wait a minute… if these fighters are competing, then they should have known each other. Obviously, Charizard cannot speak, so our only chance is Lucina."

While Link waited, Zelda walked up to Lucina, who was also looking at a photo.

"Excuse me, Lucina. I'm sorry that I might be going to break the rules, but do you remember what happened during your secret Smash Run training?"

"Um… no. I don't remember anything. I thought every Smash Run training is the same. No secret training or anything."

"No? Well, then."

As Zelda walked away, the video had just started. "Here it is!" Dedede exclaimed.

The video showed footages of several fighters in action. While most of them are normal, three fighters caught their attention. Two newcomers and one veteran. One of the newcomers looks like the one in the leaked photo. Another newcomer is someone that only people from Mario's homeworld can recognize. Bowser was the first to react at the latter newcomer. He gasped in surprise.

"Is… is that?" Peach wondered.

"Bowser Jr.?" Luigi said.

"Huh. Someone from Mario's universe, isn't it?" Fox said.

"And another newcomer looks like the one in this photo. So... the name is Shulk, hm?" Zelda pointed out the photo depicting the Smash Run stats screen.

"Oh… So, is this really and truly real?" Pit was confused.

"…I can't really say that it's real, but I can't say it's fake either. I mean, we never meet any of those fighters before, yet some of us are shown there. Another thing is that The Great Creator is known for wiping out our memories after certain matches." Dedede explained.

"WHAT?!" everyone in the chamber was surprised.

"Wha-? Urk… I'm sorry. I should have kept my stiff upper beak…" Dedede suddenly felt guilty.

"Dedede? What you said sounds important! Why would you want to stay silent about it?!" Pit asked angrily.

Dedede just stayed silent, but deep inside he knew that he had to say it out loud. He couldn't handle covering The Great Creator's secrets anymore now that the debatable leaks had surfaced.

"I'm sorry, really sorry. But for now, I have to leave you all here." Dedede walked away.

As the video was still playing and showed a footage of Ganondorf, Zelda wanted to ask the penguin about Ganondorf, but she'd rather have Dedede calm down first. All of sudden, the waiting room's door is opened and Ganondorf walked out. Of course, everyone was surprised.

"I heard familiar noises that sounded like my techniques. Is it my turn yet?"

Zelda ran up to Ganondorf and said, "I'm sorry, Ganondorf. Not yet. Please go back to your room. This isn't a real announcement."

"It does look like it."

"But, please, your time isn't up yet. Please go back or we will get in trouble."

"Hmph. As if you're still calm about me not being announced yet. Fine then, but I'll show you my true powers once I'm back." Ganondorf walked back to the waiting room, where it could be shown that there were other veterans being worried inside, while the Ice Climbers were clearly trembling in fear.

After a brief silence, Pit decided to open up a discussion.

"So, what can we say about these photos now that there's a video linked to them? For starters, let's begin with this photo of the roster."

Pit showed a photo depicting the presumably complete roster of fighters for The Fourth Grand Tournament. Several familiar faces like Wario, Mr. Game and Watch, Ganondorf, Falco, Jigglypuff, R.O.B., Ness, and, surprisingly, Dr. Mario are present in the photo. Aside from the newcomers present in the leaked video, there are also others like a dog and Dark Pit.

"Who's that dog?" Wii Fit Trainer asked.

Mario thought for a while, then pulled out several photos from his pocket. The photos apparently belong to the newly registered fighters but not belonging to the Smash crew yet. After flipping through several photos: Geno, King K. Rool, Mach Rider… Duck Hunt! Mario then showed everyone the photo of the apparently tag team Duck Hunt, consisting of a dog and a duck.

"Hm. Now that's pretty weird. At least to me." Wii Fit Trainer said.

"What about that Pit look-alike?" Samus pointed out Dark Pit in the photo.

"Pit look-alike? That's Dark Pit." Palutena said.

"Dark-what?" Pit was annoyed.

"Enough, no more fooling around. Let's discuss about this seemingly real roster, shall we?"

As everyone in the chamber was discussing, the other veterans in the waiting room were still worried about what happened before. Ganondorf was still very grumpy.

"Yeah… even though I myself can't wait to take down Fox in the next tournament, I wouldn't have to burst through the door, eh?" Wolf said.

"Shut up." Ganondorf said.


	2. Chapter 2: It's About Mii!

**Chapter 2: It's About Mii!**

The Gathering Point is just a small part of main building. This building is called Smash Castle. It has a lot of rooms for fighter needs and events. There are, in fact, two points of interest beside The Gathering Point. There's another main chamber, but instead of regular fighters from various universes, Miis gather there. The chamber is aptly-named Mii Chamber. When it was first built, all fighters were confused on what purpose does it do. Nowadays, one can see various Miis walking around, interacting with each other and doing other things. Often times, Miis can resemble one of the fighters.

While Miis can customize their own techniques, their participation in tournaments is restricted. Also, Miis are not allowed to enter The Gathering Point unless The Great Creator allows them.

_Present Day_

One day, a Mii named Sophia has just entered the Mii Chamber, seemingly done with something. Another Mii, Mei, who is Sophia's friend, notices her and begins to question her.

"Hey, Sophia! What did The Great Creator asked you to do?"

"Oh hey, Mei! I was asked to try out the customization facility. I think it has something to do with Smash Run or just a Mii-specific feature. It's pretty cool to me."

"Wow, lucky you! How does the facility look like?"

"Heehee, the news picture should be out shortly."

Soon after Sophia said so, a hologram showing the picture of Sophia in that facility is projected.

"Wow… So that's the customization facility…"

"I can't believe what I'm seeing!"

"I first heard about it only, now I can finally see it!"

"Yawn…"

"Lame!"

"No… I don't want another update like this!"

Looking at various Mii's reaction to the picture, Mei pats Sophia's shoulder and says, "Hm. The reaction is mixed, as always."

"Yeah. It seems that this week will always end up like this."

"By the way, did you know about the leak?"

"What leak?"

"Oh, you don't know, huh? But I think the loss of hype must have something to do with it."

"I see."

Meanwhile, at The Gathering Point, all of the fighters apparently have mixed feelings toward the today's picture as well. Some are okay with this, some are not interested.

"So… this is the Mii's customization feature, hm?" Samus wondered.

"I can't say anything about this." Pit said.

"At least, it's now clear how the Miis are going to be customized. Good thing they're pretty restricted." Fox said.

"Yeah! When I first heard the Miis' announcement, I was afraid that they'll steal the spotlight completely!" Peach said.

Meanwhile, in the waiting room…

"No special announcement for us!" Ganondorf exclaimed, just like in the previous days since the day after Meta Knight's announcement. Of course, everyone just sighs in disbelief. Since the start of the roster building, Ganondorf has been the one watching the updates through the tiny hole on the door. The hole is positioned rather high, so only taller fighters like Ganondorf can take a look through it without any problem. Speaking of the waiting room, those poor veterans have to enter and stay at the same room for several hours every day just to wait for announcements.

"As usual for us…" Wolf said.

"Well. What can you expect from The Great Creator?" Falco said in a mocking voice.

"Heh. At least all of you still have the possibility." Snake, who is at the room's corner, seems to try to convince the impatient veterans. From his tone, though, it can be either that or pure sarcasm.

"Lookie here, someone who tries to cheer us up. Isn't this nice?"

"Heh heh. I'm actually serious about this. It might be just my feeling, but at best all of you will join the next tournament, while I'll be kicked out. How's that?"

"I don't know about you, uncanny-looking human, but I'm getting tired of waiting. And so, words like that won't help me. At all."

"Hmph. For one thing, may I remind you that I'm just a guest fighter, just like that… ugh… annoying hedgehog?"

"Yeah, yeah. Talk about anything you want, but I keep thinking that all of us here will be ignored and get the boot."

"But, Snake. That hedgehog can still remain for the next tournament. I think you'll show up as well." Ganondorf told Snake.

"Nah… He's just lucky. But if I'm kicked out, I won't have to deal with the hedgehog ever again and focus on my missions."

While the taller fighters (plus Wario) just stay pessimistic, comment negatively and even snark at each other, the shorter ones simply gather in a small group, trying to stay away from the negative aura.

"Now what are we gonna do?" Popo, one of the Ice Climbers, asked.

"This is just getting worse…" Nana the pink Ice Climber gets worried.

The other short fighters simply stay silent, not knowing what to do. If only another special announcement happened…

Meanwhile, Dedede visits The Great Creator's hall. This is the third time he has done this. He's definitely feeling very, very guilty. The hall itself is dimly lit. Only glowing pillars are the light source. At the end of the hall, darkness can only be seen. No light can even touch it. The Great Creator is supposed to stand there, shrouded by darkness. No fighter ever dares to go beyond the darkness whenever they're required to meet him. Rumor has it that anyone who steps into the darkness will have his/her existence completely removed. Both physical form and memories regarding him/her would be erased for real so no one would know what happened to him/her, not even remembering him/her in the first place.

Once Dedede stops walking and faces the darkness, he begins to kneel down.

"I'd like to say sorry again, Sakurai. I'm still proven unworthy to you…"

Silence. Then Dedede continues.

"I know that this feels like the third time I'm asking for forgiveness, but I'm thinking that you're still mad at me these days. I just had no choice…"

Silence again.

"Please… forgive me once again. I know I cannot fix this mess anymore now that everyone knows the secret, but please… forgive me…"

Another silence, but it seems that Dedede feels more relieved than before.


	3. Chapter 3: Yay for Mii!

_**Author's Note: To be clear, I try to write the next chapter as soon as the next SSB4 "Pic of the Day" comes out. I might plan to write during Saturdays or Sundays as well, if I'm not going anywhere or I have an idea for it.**_

**Chapter 3: Yay for Mii!**

It's a brand new day. As usual, the confirmed fighters are meeting at The Gathering Point, while the ones that are still waiting for their confirmation have to stay in the waiting room. Waiting for another news related to the upcoming tournament, everyone spends their time chatting with each other.

Everyone… except King Dedede. He hasn't been present in that chamber for several days since the recent leak and sudden reveal of The Great Creator's secret. Because of this, no one ever talks about that leak anymore, and just continue their daily lives as if they're thinking that the leak was an exaggerated joke by the penguin. In fact, Dedede took the photos and the disc with him, and nothing else has been heard of from him. Also, even after Dedede blurted out The Great Creator's secret, everyone else just forgot about it anyway.

Apart from the usual daily photo that The Great Creator will show up, there's supposed to be another announcement that day. It may or may not contain "Smash world"-related info, but certain fighters are curious about it.

The time has come. A photo will show up. As all fighters sans Dedede focus on the center of the chamber, a hologram is being projected. Once it becomes clear, it's revealed that the picture is of…

…

…three Miis in identical costumes at the Battlefield.

Once again, this gains a mixed reaction. Some are happy, some feel indifferent, and others hate it. Made even worse that it only features Miis, just like the yesterday's picture. To the regular fighters, they never actually liked Miis, and there is a reason why there's a separate chamber to gather Miis for the upcoming tournament. Even if they're tolerant towards Miis, it's usually if they're in the mood.

One thing to note is that there's exactly one reason why these fighters aren't fond of Miis. They fear that certain Miis will take the form of any of the fighters and will be more superior compared to the regular fighters. Well, there are fighters who share the same techniques as the other, but if the Mii's raw power is greater, why need the regular fighters in the first place? Good thing The Great Creator clarified this by limiting the Mii's tech set into three classes: Brawler, Swordfighter and Gunner, which only one of them can be applied to a single Mii. And, the regular fighters can also enjoy the power-ups and equipments that are part of fighter customization. While this clarification has reduced the fear factor, it's still not enough for the regular fighters. The Miis, after all, definitely outnumber the regular fighters in terms of quantity. There are so many of them.

"Is this part of the Multi-Man battle?" Meta Knight asked.

"Yes. No doubt about it. We've battled them in a training, remember?" Pit replied.

Everyone nods. While they're actually glad to be able punch them in the face freely, something of a catharsis factor, the look at their faces just spells disappointment. They've gone through the week with nothing really and truly informative, especially after the leak. Even worse is that some of the pictures match the leaked photos, making the latter being pretty much spoilers at that point.

"Well, looks like we have nothing else to talk here. Let's go back to our rooms." Pit said.

The Gathering Point quickly becomes empty. Meanwhile, the waiting room's door is opened. Coming out from the room is also a group of fighters, with the same disappointed look on their face. To the regular fighters, including the unconfirmed ones, that week is pretty much boring.

At Mii Chamber, while not to the extent to the situation at The Gathering Point, still has the same mixed reaction. The hate comes not due to the fact that it's related to the Multi-Man battle, but because the picture doesn't really contain new information to them. They know that they'll be randomly called to that battle. They know that they have to suffer from other fighters. Miis don't care about the physical pain anyway. They like participating in those battles.

As for Dedede, he's still staying in his room, a royal-themed room with colorful patterns and a bed fitting for his size. He has been watching those leaked videos for quite a long time. Or rather, he's contemplating about something while letting the video play in a seemingly-infinite loop.

"Should I ask him? Is it the time now…?" Dedede thought.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Dedede gets up from his chair, goes to the door and opens it.

"Hi!" Kirby greeted.

"We haven't seen you ever since you showed us the photos." Meta Knight said.

Dedede remains silent, but he lets those two in anyway.

"Dedede, first things first, I've been wondering about this particular thought since you mentioned about The Great Creator's secret or something related to it. While the others might not care anymore, I still do." Meta Knight began the conversation.

"Let me guess, how do I know all this stuff?"

"Correct. If what you said is true, how can you know that The Great Creator can erase certain memories if you're also capable of having yours removed? You're just like us."

"I know. I know. But…"

"Oh. One more before you may answer. Again, if you actually told the truth, how come none of us are punished? Not even another memory wipe? We cannot mess with The Great Creator. We know that it would be fatal to do so. And, we know that the punishment can be something that we can't even imagine."

"Sigh… Okay then. I'm going to tell you why, but please don't spread this to anyone else. Not even that Kirby here. I'm not fully ready to tell the truth yet. I need The Great Creator's confirmation if I want to spread it to everyone else. I hope he's still okay with me telling you anyway…"

"Fine then. As long as I don't spread it. After all, you're feeling uneasy these days."

After that, the penguin begins to whisper to Meta Knight. Meanwhile, Kirby is just bouncing on Dedede's bed, not paying attention to those two.

"Hm. That sounds understandable. But you still haven't answered my second question yet." Meta Knight said.

"For that, I really have no idea. It seems suspicious that The Great Creator hasn't punished us yet."

"Hmph. For someone that usually cannot be taken seriously, you deserved something like that. However, I'm not convinced yet because of the unanswered second question. I'm leaving now." Meta Knight exits Dedede's room.

However, the happy Kirby is still bouncing on Dedede's bed, causing the penguin to exclaim, "Hey! Kirby! Get off my bed and get out!"


	4. Chapter 4: The Incredible Shulk

_**Author's Note: I decided to post another chapter today (according to my place's timezone) because apparently, the 3DS Direct gave out a reveal. Keep in mind that I'm only familiar with some characters that appear in this series, and whenever I have to involve certain characters, I'm only trying my best to avoid them being completely out-of-character. Also, because of this, combined with me not bothering to research (I hate to admit) the source material, I might make mistakes. Lots of mistakes.**_

**Chapter 4: The Incredible Shulk**

"Hey! What's going on?" Zelda questioned as several fighters are rushing through the corridor leading to The Gathering Point. Luigi is the only one responding to her, but all he can say is random gibberish. Without hesitating, Zelda follows the other fighters.

"It's… real…" Pit said, his eyes focusing on the video projected in the middle of the chamber.

When Zelda arrives, she's pretty surprised at what she's seeing. A newcomer. But, he's first seen in the leaked photos and video that Dedede brought several days ago. Everything about him matches his appearance in the leaked media.

"This cannot be real…" Zelda thought.

"Yes. Yes, it's real…" Marth said.

"That Shulk person… he's now part of our crew." Samus said.

"I guess Dedede is right, after all. Now I'm feeling sorry for him." Pit felt guilty.

While everyone else is still staying in awe and waiting for Shulk to come to The Gathering Point, Meta Knight quietly leaves the chamber.

At The Great Creator's Hall, Dedede is in the middle of a rather disturbingly silent conversation. No other voice except Dedede's is heard.

"Y-You sure about this, Sakurai?"

Silence, as usual.

"Okay, then! I'm going to tell everyone! Thanks for still being kind!"

Filled with joy, Dedede runs out of the hall and goes through the main corridor, only to bump into Meta Knight on the way. "Ouch!"

"Hmph. What a surprise it seems."

"Hey, Meta Knight! Call everyone else! I…"

"No! You don't need to!"

"Eh?"

"They're already gathering."

"…Could it be?"

"Yes. It turns out that you are correct after all."

"Not what I'm expecting, but… r-really?"

"Yes. See for yourself."

Meta Knight then escorts the penguin to The Gathering Point. The other fighters are greeting the newcomer. When the two finally arrive, Pit is the first to notice this, and promptly dashes to Dedede.

"Dedede! I'm sorry for doubting you! I'm sorry that I'm not taking you seriously! I'm so, so sorry that I thought the leak was just another one of your jokes! You were serious after all!"

"Heheh, Pit! It's okay! People doubt me all the time, anyway!"

"Seriously, you being serious like that doesn't look like your usual self! By the way, here's the newcomer that is part of the leak! Shulk!"

While Dedede goes with Pit to greet the newcomer, Meta Knight just stands there, thinking, "Hmph. I already know that this will eventually end up like this. After several debatable leaks and sudden matching announced newcomers, they still haven't learned. Well, it's not my business anyway." Meta Knight then leaves the chamber instead of greeting Shulk like the others.

After all the meeting and greeting, Dedede then stands in the middle of the chamber.

"Ehem. Now that the leak has been proven, well, partially, I think it's about time that I'm going to tell you something."

The entirety of The Gathering Point is now silent. Then, Dedede begins talking.

"Okay, our new pal Shulk may not know this, but remember when I suddenly said something about The Great Creator's secret?"

"Huh. Most of us don't care about it anymore." Wii Fit Trainer said.

"But I do!" Pit exclaimed.

"Hehe… About that secret… actually, I want to tell you something important. Usually, The Great Creator will not allow me to say anything related to this, but he's now okay with that!"

"You sure about that?" Lucina doubted.

"Yeah, I'm sure! Do you realize that The Great Creator hasn't punished us in any form yet? And, no. No talking about the pictures. It's up to him. And I know that he did it just to unleash something surprising."

"When you said that way, I think you're right." Peach said.

"Huh. But how do you know all that? Why do you assume something like that?" Ike asked.

"Ah. My wanted questions… Now, I'm going to explain. You see, The Great Creator also needs an assistant to keep track of every training. Normally, this is used to also keep track of who is absent during that session. That assistant is also unaffected by the memory wipe done by The Great Creator."

"So… are you saying that his assistant is you?" Pit asked.

"Why, yes! Yes, I am! But w-wait! Before you begin doubting, do you know of anyone else who blurted out about The Great Creator's memory wiping ability? No one else, right?"

"It's true, but… Dedede, you're usually, er, no offense, not that trustworthy. I always think that The Great Creator would rely on someone more reliable. Why did he pick you? Also, the whole assistant thing is new to me. I never knew about it until right now." Pit said.

"Why he picked me… actually I have no idea either. But no, the assistant thing does exist, still. It has actually existed… since the preparation time for the X Tournament."

"Whoa! I never realized that!" Pit is surprised.

"You see, The Great Creator never publicly stated that he has chosen an assistant for him. Only the chosen one was notified. In other words, only me. So, why I decided to talk about it is because The Great Creator no longer wants to cover the whole assistant thing. I think, after all those leaks, he seems to be aware of our confusion the whole time. He wants to make things easier, I guess. I mean, I'm the only one who still remembers several more secret trainings. Yes, I do remember seeing Shulk in a training session. I forgot with whom, though. I can't really remember everything, but I remember seeing several more unconfirmed fighters and newcomers practicing, who then had their memories of the training removed. Keep in mind that back in the X Tournament days, there were also leaks, remember? Some turned to be true, some ended up being false. The current preparation for the tournament is just the same, but distinguishing between real and fake is now tricky."

"Dedede. That doesn't sound like you, but I think I understand what you mean." Pit said.

"Hm. Speaking of the previous tournaments and leaks…" Samus said, causing the other fighters to pay their attention to the bounty hunter.

"…Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Link, Falcon, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu… Remember our first preparation for the Smash Tournament, the very first tournament we were having? Also, the others who joined the crew for the Deluxe Tournament, remember about the preparation back then? Keep in mind that both of those situations lack leaks like this. In case of the latter tournament, it's simply false rumors, but there were no such thing as fake roster photos… well, except for something related to Sonic and that mushroom-headed thing, but both are still part of the false rumors. I think the reason The Great Creator asked for a special assistance is to combat against leaked information. Dedede, I think that's not simply a matter of being absent or anything, it's something related to leaks."

"…I think you may be right. I mean, I first joined this group during the X Tournament preparation, so I can't really conclude that."

"The Great Creator does not want us to get information we shouldn't have yet. Too much information will spoil a lot about the tournament. Wouldn't it be dull to have a tournament where everything is easily predicted? The tournament wouldn't be as exciting if we know everything already. For example, there are still battle arenas that we don't know yet. It'd be better if certain arenas remain secret. I mean, we don't have to learn every stage. Remember, all we need during tournaments is pure skill."

"Huh… You've explained quite a lot, Samus, but why didn't The Great Creator choose you instead of me?"

"Yeah. I think Samus is more suitable for his assistant." Pit said.

"I think The Great Creator considers you special." the bounty hunter replied.

"What? What's so special about me? All I have is my hammer… right now, at least."

"No. I think The Great Creator chose you because even though you may not look like a reliable person, you can still prove yourself as one. I mean, think about yourself. You never spill any info regarding the secret training. You never reveal the whole roster list. Some of us may end up spoiling all those valuable information anyway."

"…I think you're right."

"Hey, are you serious about the whole secret training stuff? I thought every training is the same." Lucina said.

"Lucina, I think the memory wipe did a lot more to you than usual. Some of us might still retain the idea of secret training." Samus said.

After all that explanation, Shulk walks up to Dedede.

"That was a lot of explanation. I don't understand what's actually happening here, but I guess you've just cleared yourself from troubles." Shulk said.

"Thanks, newcomer. Call me King Dedede!"

"Aw… Dedede being his usual self again… It's okay, Shulk. He's actually pretty arrogant, if I do say so myself." Pit said.

"Oh, you…" Dedede grumbled.

"So, I guess I'm still fine calling him just Dedede, right?" Shulk said.

"No! That's King Dedede! King! Dedede!"

Hearing that outburst, everyone else just laughs.

"Hehe. Now that everything's cleared up, let's have some special dinner to celebrate!" Palutena said.

"Yeah!" everyone said in unison. And then, they all leave The Gathering Point.

However, in the waiting room, things don't seem to be well…

Ganondorf, who has been peeking through the tiny hole, can only frown in disbelief. While deep inside he's actually glad to have another worthy opponent to fight against, he's still disappointed that no veterans are announced. However, he and the other veterans also heard Dedede's truth, and so, some of those veterans begin to plot a scheme.


	5. Chapter 5: Grouping and Cutting

_**Author's Note: I know that today's Miiverse picture isn't posted yet, I just got an idea after seeing a roster only shown in the Japanese 3DS eShop.**_

**Chapter 5: Grouping and Cutting**

It's Monday. A new day of the new week. The Gathering Point is currently being filled with fighters as usual, but it seems to be rather early. Near the entrance to the main corridor, King Dedede is going to announce something important. From the look of his face, he seems slightly worried.

"…Everyone, right now we have an important announcement."

Silence. Some other fighters noticed Dedede's expression, making them expecting something akin to a bad news. Dedede then pulls out a paper.

"Pit, if you will." Dedede gives his paper to Pit, who is standing next to him. Pit also notices Dedede's expression, but he decided to ignore it for a while and read the paper.

"Okay, then. It appears that we will be divided into groups for this grand tournament."

After another brief silence, Pit continues reading.

"According to The Great Creator, this list only covers the first group, Group A. Also, this list is still prone to change according to the situation. Do not, I repeat, do not complain about you not being listed here or not liking this decision."

Another silence. Pit then reads the rather long list.

"Okay, then. For Group A, we have Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Link, Zelda…"

"Excuse me, Pit." Zelda asked as soon as her name is mentioned.

"What is it?"

"Now that you mentioned my name, does that mean Sheik belong to that group as well?"

Pit looks at the small, handwritten note beside Zelda's name.

"Yes. Sheik's also in."

After looking around for a while, Pit continues reading the list.

"Well, then. Let me continue. After Zelda… and Sheik, we also have Toon Link, Samus in both forms, myself, Lady Palutena, Marth, Ike, both Robins, Kirby, Dedede, Meta Knight, Little Mac, Fox, Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario, Greninja, Captain Falcon, Villager… of all kinds that are present in this room, Olimar, both Wii Fit Trainers, Shulk, Pac-Man, Mega Man and Sonic."

After reading the list, Pit looks at the crowd only to notice their odd looks at him. It's until he suddenly realized about something related to the list.

"Wait a minute… Group A pretty much contains all of us in this room! I mean, I'm certain there's another group concerning Miis, but I never thought that for a first group, there's already this many!"

"…But, what about me, Pit?" Lucina finally asked.

"You are… Lucina, right?"

"Yes. But I didn't hear my name being mentioned."

"Oh, really? Let me check the list again."

Pit skims through the list again, thinking that he might have missed Lucina's name. However, the list is just exactly like what he mentioned.

"I'm sorry, I think you don't belong in this group."

"Oh."

"I think you're going to belong to Group B or something. Well, for a single group, that's pretty large. I wonder what The Great Creator is actually thinking. Oh. There's an additional excerpt here…"

Pit reads the small print on the bottom of the paper.

"Hm. It seems that Group B will have a smaller number of fighters. Far smaller, in fact, according to this small writing on the bottom. Meanwhile, Miis are placed in their own group, Group C. I still don't know what made The Great Creator decided to plan the groups like this."

"So, there will be three groups, but how is the fight supposed to be like?" Peach wondered.

"That, I also have no idea. Even Dedede has no idea. I guess this is the only info that The Great Creator wants us to know at this moment."

Pit wants Dedede to dismiss the current gathering, but seeing the penguin in that same worried expression, Pit just decided to do it himself.

"And so, everyone. You're all dismissed. See you all later during the update."

Once the fighters have left the room, Pit finally decided to ask Dedede about his problem.

"Dedede, you don't look like you…"

"I know…"

"What happened?"

"It's…"

_Last Saturday, at night (flashback)_

"Tell us, Dedede…"

"You've told everyone in The Gathering Point that you're The Great Creator's assistant, right?"

"Obviously, we also heard that, just like whenever you guys speak up about updates and leaks."

"You guys… it's true that I'm his assistant, but… for this one, I'm still not allowed to spit it out!"

"I'm getting anxious about this already. Just tell us!"

"Look, during my talk yesterday, I didn't even say anything about the full roster. Even though all of you now have learned about my involvement with The Great Creator, I still cannot tell you about that roster!"

"Listen, if you don't want to feel so difficult, you'd better just tell us whether we're guaranteed to be in or not. Do not base it on the leaks, we're not going to believe it. If you don't, I'll have Snake detonate this castle and ruin the whole tournament. We would be free and no longer care about whether we can do evil things or not."

"That's ridiculous! If you're trying to do that, The Great Creator will stop you before you can even do it!"

"We don't care."

"You're all crazy!"

"Look, before I fire my Blaster, just tell us whether we're guaranteed to be in this tournament or not. We're going to eliminate you first if you don't."

"…Fine. I begin with Ganondorf first. Urk… (I'm sorry, Sakurai…) Ganondorf, you're guaranteed to be back in. Same goes with Falco."

"Good, good. Now, how about me? And Snake over here?"

"I don't know what to say about you two…"

"What's the matter? Scared? Or you're actually admitting that either me, Snake or both are cut, hm?"

"Thing is… I…"

*rumble* *rumble*

"Uh, oh."

"At this point, we're going to be doomed…"

…

….

…..

"Wait a minute, where are we now?"

"Urk… This is The Great Creator's Hall… Normally cannot be seen except for some fighters…"

"Ugh… I don't like where this is going…"

"So… The Great Creator… why are you summoning us here? …Wait, what?"

"What did you say? You're threatening to cut me from the roster?! …Wait, Snake too? I'm not the one responsible for this! It's all Ganondorf's fault!"

"…Forgive me, The Great Creator. It won't happen again, ever. And… Wolf, you're the one who came up with the plan, with Snake assisting you. No wonder The Great Creator is threatening you. Actually, I'm just following you because of my anxiousness."

"Gotta admit, I'm also simply joining you as well. Never thought it would end up like this."

"Ganondorf… Falco… That's just unfair! That's it! I'm out of here!"

_End of Flashback_

"Geez… That's awful. I never thought that those veterans will act like that." Pit said.

"The worst thing is, this isn't the first time…" Dedede said, still in his worried voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Back during the preparation for the X Tournament, the same thing happened to me before…"

"But, who did it?"

"I believe… they were Roy, Young Link and Mewtwo… They threatened me before, but it was worse. I think, from what I remember, I believe I was knocked out cold by Mewtwo before waking up back in my room, when there was a sudden news."

"What news?"

"Those three ended up being cut from the X Tournament's roster. No ifs and buts."

"…That explains the disappearance of those three. Still wondering why other fighters like Dr. Mario and Pichu also received the same fate though."

"It's probably something else, but that's a different thing."

"Okay, then. Now… we should get some lunch. We will have to call the others again later."

"Oh, yes. The update. Come on. Let's have some feast!"


	6. Chapter 6: Monado Monday and Side Story

**Chapter 6: Monado Monday and Side Story**

"How's the lunch, Mario?" Peach asked Mario as they walk down the main corridor.

"Yummy!"

"O-kay!" Luigi replied as well, even though he isn't asked by her.

Right now, The Gathering Point is filled once again with fighters. An update picture is going to be displayed. Their chit-chat suddenly stops as the hologram begins to be projected. Once it becomes clear, the picture is revealed to be…

…

…a picture of Shulk and an orange long-eared creature. There is also what seems to be a red cursor above the creature's head.

"What's that thing?" Pit asked.

"It looks adorable." Peach said.

"What's that pointer for? I thought pointers can only be seen above our heads…" Sonic wondered.

"That makes me curious, too." Wii Fit Trainer said.

"Hehe, to answer your question, Pit, that "thing" is named Riki." Shulk told Pit.

The chamber is getting noisier. Discussions related to the picture can be heard from various fighters. However, Dedede decided to walk up near the projector in the center of the chamber and ask everyone there to pay attention to him.

"Everyone!"

The noises then stop. Dedede looks at the projected picture again, then says something to the fighters.

"Everyone, let me explain. The pointer over there is supposed to mark whose Assist or Pokémon that is present on the battle field. Remember during the X Tournament that we had no idea whose Assist was that? Now, we don't need to worry."

"Ooohh…" everyone nodded, finally knowing the pointer's purpose.

"So, any other questions?"

Silence. No one has any idea for a good question.

"No? Well, so be it. Everyone, you're all dismissed!"

As all of the fighters are leaving The Gathering Point, Zelda catches up with Shulk and asks him.

"Excuse me, Shulk. I believe I've seen that creature before in your introduction. Well… in your Final Smash, if I'm not wrong. So, does that mean that creature has two roles?"

"Oh? The Great Creator told me that Riki shows up both in my Final Smash and as an Assist, so… yeah."

"Interesting. I wonder if there are other people or creature like that…"

In another corridor, a group of unconfirmed fighters is chatting while walking.

"So, it's just as expected, a Shulk-related picture." Ganondorf said.

"At least we don't need to question whose Assist is that anyway." Falco commented.

"Hey, I know I've said it numerous times, but Shulk is so cool!" Popo the blue ice climber said to Nana.

"I couldn't agree more!" Nana said back.

"Heh. While you're all satisfied or happy or whatever positive mood you're filled, Snake and I are on the verge of being kicked out." Wolf said.

"It doesn't really matter to me, to be honest." Snake told Wolf.

"Hmph. By the way, about what I said before. You guys don't even realize how close we are to the main tournament!"

"Um… really?" Lucas wondered.

"Look at the number of days left. At this point, I'm thinking that you all are going to suffer the same fate as Snake and I, heheh!"

"Shut up, Wolf!" Ganondorf exclaimed.

"Yeah… whatever."

"Listen. The Fourth Grand Tournament has two main tournaments unlike the previous ones. We still have a chance. We might be even confirmed in the middle of the tournament. You two, however, are going to be very unlikely to join."

"Say whatever you want, Falcondorf."

"Grr…"

"I think we should all run away now…" Nana whispered.

Suddenly, Lucina shows up in the corridor, surprising the group.

"Excuse me, veterans…"

"Oh. Aren't you that newcomer Lucina… who fights just like Marth!" Wolf tried to insult.

"I don't care how I fight in this tournament, at least I have the combat capabilities. Actually, I have something to say to all of you."

"What is it? Something to do with being optimistic, hm?"

"Sigh… Listen up. During the group announcement, there will be three groups. I belong to Group B according to The Great Creator. It might change, but…"

"Hah! Useless!"

"Can you please shut up, Wolf?!" Ganondorf exclaimed.

"…I'm actually looking forward to meeting all of you. I'm curious at how you all fight. I know I should be aware of your techniques, but the memory wipe as said by Dedede pretty much makes me know you all as if I just recently met you. In fact, I'd feel bad if any of you won't make it. I mean, it would be great to fight against all of you during the tournament, considering that there are a lot of fighters for this tournament. And, even though Group B is smaller than Group A, there's still a lot of fighters that need to be confirmed."

"Lucina… I never usually feel this grateful… but, thank you." Ganondorf said.

"We're also looking forward to facing you in a match or two!" the ice climbers said in unison.

"Miss Lucina… I'd like to fight against you too. In this tournament, definitely." Lucas said.

While everyone else just expresses their gratitude and is feeling convinced that they'd be confirmed for The Fourth Grand Tournament, Wolf just grunts and refuses to look at the others.

"To be honest, this lady makes me feel like I don't care about The Great Creator's threat anymore…" Snake said to Wolf.

"Shut up."

Meanwhile, at Dedede's room, the penguin is lying on his bed, thinking about something.

"What happened that time seems to have brought me some memories. I usually ignore stuff from the past, but… I wonder, how did that happen back then? How bad was it?" Dedede thought.

"Oh, wait. I think I got it!"

_Around 7 years ago… (flashback)_

"You seem to know a lot about the confirmed fighters, don't you?"

"But… um… well…"

"Don't lie! I'd like to know whether we're included in the X Tournament or not! I'm sick of waiting, and I'm certain that Young Link and Mewtwo are tired of it too!"

"I was discussing about a leak. You have nothing to do with those leaks!"

"I don't care. If you don't spit it out, I'd have Mewtwo knock you out, then Young Link and I will roast you!"

"Are you three crazy?!"

"Mewtwo! Knock out this oversized bird!"

…!

…

!

"Wh-where…?"

"You passed out in the library."

"M-Meta Knight…? Kirby…?"

"When I saw you there, I thought you were dead. What happened?"

"I dunno… I believe I was attacked by Mewtwo…"

"Hm. Speaking of Mewtwo, the other fighters are gathering around the announcement board."

… … …

"So, what's the news? I'm curious."

"Oh, Dedede! The Great Creator called us to check the announcement board. When we gathered here, all we saw are news regarding… urk… fighters who are kicked out."

"What?!"

"This is the second time it happens."

"Pit… Samus… Which fighters who were kicked out?"

"Look at the papers. They all say the same."

…

"…Young Link, Mewtwo and Roy?!"

"Yes, after Dr. Mario and Pichu, apparently we have to lose three more fighters."

_End of Flashback_

"Yes… I'm pretty sure that's what is going to happen to Wolf and Snake. But now it's different. Sakurai didn't outright kick them out. He simply threatened them. I wonder if he still has plans regarding those two…? Maybe he's simply giving them another chance…?" Dedede thought.

"Sigh… I think I'm going to apologize to Sakurai once again." Dedede leaves his room.


	7. Chapter 7: Nintendo (& Friends) All-Star

**Chapter 7: Nintendo (& Friends) All-Star!**

"Wow… Would you look at that…?" Lucina said.

That day's update features two projected pictures. The first shows the screen featuring some fighters corresponding to their "first career" debut year below them. It features Pac-Man, Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Little Mac, Peach and Bowser, in that order. The second picture shows something that is definitely this event's All-Star Mode, featuring Shulk on the rest area.

"Is that All-Star Mode?" Pit wondered.

"Yes. It definitely is. There's no doubt." Zelda replied.

"Waka-waka!" Pac-Man dances in joy.

"I actually don't remember myself being there, though…" Shulk commented.

"Hey, hey, Shulk buddy! You don't remember what I said about The Great Creator's power of memory erasing?" Dedede said to Shulk.

However, something is amiss. On the timeline on the first picture, fighters who debuted earlier like Mr. Game & Watch and R.O.B. are absent.

"Hm. If that timeline corresponds to every fighter available for this tournament… where's Mr. Game & Watch? I still remember seeing him in Pac-Man's introduction video." Samus wondered.

"Uh-huh. Some fighters are missing from that timeline. Could it be…? Are they going to be cut from the list…?" Marth wondered as well.

Soon after those two questions popped up, almost every fighter in The Gathering Point becomes worried about the fate of the other unconfirmed fighters. Realizing the situation, Dedede asks everyone to calm down.

"Attention, everyone!"

…

"Just to avoid trouble, let me explain this update. First things first, this new All-Star Mode can be started even if our list of fighters isn't complete yet! See that lock on that picture? That lock is the sign that the list isn't complete yet!" Dedede points out the padlock silhouette on the timeline picture.

"Do you mean that all of us who are currently present in this chamber can play in that event? Even without the currently unconfirmed fighters?" Pit asked.

"Correct!"

"Hope is definitely still alive…" Lucina thought.

"Dedede, I have something to ask." Sonic said.

"What is it, Sonic?"

"I think I remember hearing something related to Assists having some kind of role in the All-Star Mode long ago. Do you think it's true?"

"That… I don't know. Yeah, I'm honest about this, I hate to admit. But one thing for sure, to the newcomers, that Starfy in the second picture is just an ordinary trophy."

At the waiting room, Ganondorf is still peeking through the door's tiny hole.

"Everyone out there has been talking about the new All-Star Mode for quite a while." Falco said.

"Apparently, even with the incomplete roster, that event can still be played. Oh. I'm hearing about something else. Any of you hearing it right now?" Ganondorf said.

"We can hear it! It has something to do with the lock they mentioned!" the ice climbers said.

"It's another explanation. The padlock from that screen will disappear once the full roster has been revealed. Huh…" Falco said.

Ganondorf stops peeking through the hole and turns around to see the other fighters.

"I guess that blue-haired lady was right after all… We still have a chance to be accepted in this tournament. No matter what, I'm sure that all of us will make a comeback."

"Yay!" the ice climbers are overjoyed.

"I hate to admit, I never thought I can be this positive. I always think that it's just because I'm feeling bad for Dedede, but what that lady, Lucina, said to us made me want to keep looking forward to all reveals, which will eventually lead to myself being properly re-introduced. While I'm still not sure who will be kicked out, for the time being I'm certain that all of us in this waiting room will be confirmed anyway."

"Is that right?" Popo wondered.

"Probably, but I hope it'll come true. Myself, you two, Falco, Ness, Lucas, Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B., Jigglypuff, Wolf, Snake, and Wario. I'm hoping for a big battle involving all of us."

"Huh. Speaking of Wolf and Snake, they're not here." Nana said.

"Yeah. Also, we haven't seen Wario in a while." Popo said.

"They're probably plotting another scheme…" Lucas worriedly said.

"No need to worry, kid. Their next punishment would cause them to get cut from the roster." Falco tries to convince the boy.

Outside Smash Castle, the trio is scattering around the castle's garden in search of something.

"Leaks… leaks… leaks…" Wario chanted as he runs around the area.

"Come on, you two! I haven't got all day!" Wolf yelled at Snake and Wario, who are tasked with searching for something seemingly important for him.

"My best skill is stealth, not looking for useless things." Snake complained.

"I don't care. We need all the leaks we can get! Even better if it's like Dedede's video!"

"Meh. But you'd better pay me in gold!" Wario said.

Back inside Smash Castle, Dedede is in his room, looking at the seemingly-legit "leak" photos that he picked up around a week ago and remembering the times when he showed them to everyone in The Gathering Point. He still remembers the reaction when he showed them the video. When looking at several photos, one photo catches his attention. It's similar to the timeline picture for that day's update, albeit slightly blurry.

"Huh… I don't remember picking this up before… Where did this come from? Maybe I picked it up but I didn't pay attention to it. Hm… I think I'm kinda forgetful about this picture."

_Somewhere, in another dimension…_

"I'm getting pretty anxious right now!"

"I'm probably making a comeback. I'll show Mario who's the better fighter!"

"Haha! Me and my machine will take out everyone!"

"Woof! Woof!"

"You guys should be aware that not all of us will be confirmed."

"I've been registering just for this tournament. I can't wait!"

"It'll be a shame if I'm not accepted…"

"Chances are, some of us might not become actual fighters…"

"Are you talking about Assists? Yuck!"

"Even worse, Smash Run enemies! I can't stand being the same as my other comrades!"

"How about the boss role?"

"I'm still waiting…"

"Roooaaarrr!"


	8. Chapter 8: The Eight Colors of Samus

**Chapter 8: The Eight Colors of Samus**

"Huh. I'm still wondering why I didn't look at this one photo back then…" Dedede thought as he walks down the main corridor with the blurry timeline photo on hand.

"Should I tell everyone about this? I mean, I've already spoke a lot about my actual duty, so…"

Suddenly, Pit catches up to the penguin.

"Hey, hello there, Dedede! Pretty early, it seems!"

"Oh, it's you, Pit." Dedede quickly hides his photo in his coat.

"Ah… You look suspiscious, that's why! Let me take a look at it!"

"But! But!" Dedede holds his thick coat tightly to keep Pit from pulling it off.

"No ifs and buts, I want to see it!"

"Please! Listen to me first!"

"Well… okay, then, The Great Creator's right-hand man…" Pit felt annoyed.

"Actually, I'm not sure if I want to talk about this thing again…"

"Hm… The leak?"

"Yes… I've discovered yet another matching photo with yesterday's update…"

"Dedede. Everything about the leak is old news now."

"Huh?"

"Look. You've already told us more than a week ago about a potentially legit leak and, after a sudden mistake that same time, you also revealed yourself to be The Great Creator's assistant a few days after. Since then, we always place our trust in you."

"Uh… What do you mean…?" Dedede scratches his head.

"Before this particular leak, we always make fun of those… um… fake leaks. Even if this leak really is legit, we still won't know until the first day of tournament begins. Dedede, you're the only one we can rely on new info because you're tasked to watch all of our training, while you still have your own training session. I can't imagine how you do that, but it doesn't matter. Even if we're still aware of that specific leak, we consider ourselves to simply ignore it. The Great Creator might be aware of this. I'm thinking that he had no choice but to show pictures matching the leak because of how fully accurate the look-alike photos are."

"…So?"

"The Great Creator didn't punish you and allowed you to explain about yourself not because he simply gave you the permission. It's because he's literally giving up against the leaks! Even though there are still other things that are yet to be confirmed, those leaks have done a lot to him I guess…"

"Uh… I think your wording is too harsh. I don't think The Great Creator would like that…"

"Oops. Sorry. Was it really that harsh?! (I'm sorry, The Great Creator…) Anyway, it still doesn't change the fact that some of those leaked photos have proven to be actually related to this tournament. The only mystery is just who had the chance to take photos of our important trainings…"

"Yeah. When you think about it, we haven't discussed about the culprit."

"We should talk about this later, Dedede. For the time being, let's forget about those leaks. We're nearing the tournament's first day, so those leaks should not matter to us, no matter how accurate they look."

Dedede nods in agreement, then the two walk down the main corridor to The Gathering Point.

_A couple hours later…_

At The Gathering Point, the current day's update consists of three pictures. The first two show the eight different suits of Samus, while the last one shows a group of four different Villager variations. Right after this, one of the fighters, Villager, is suddenly greeted by the same group of Villagers who arrived from one of the portal corridors. The group consists of two male and two female Villagers. One male Villager wears a purple shirt with the number "4" on it, while the other wears a light blue and white striped shirt. One female Villager wears a light green dress, while the other wears a dark blue and yellow striped dress.

"So… it seems that I can wear one of the eight different kinds of suits now. I'm wondering about my Zero Suit form…" Samus thought.

"Aw… Those Villagers are cute…" Peach commented.

"Now, Sam… What do you think of this? That's just for your usual form!" Dedede asked Samus.

"Actually, I'm indifferent about this, but the fact that I can finally wear more suits compared to the previous tournament just makes me feel fine about this. No objections."

"Actually, it's not just for you. See those Villagers? I know it's not something to compare because the "actual" Villager himself doesn't change his outfit, but Villager now has eight variations too!"

"…?"

"Okay, to put this simply, actually all of us here can now either wear eight different costumes or have eight different variations!"

"Wait. Are you serious?" Pit said.

"Of course! Remember when you called me "The Great Creator's right-hand man", hm?"

"Heh… You're just being silly that time. But anyway, this is awesome!"

"I wasn't acting silly…" Dedede thought.

"Wait a minute… Speaking of costumes… um… never mind."

Dedede just shrugs. He then walks up to Samus again.

"Varia… Gravity… Fusion… Dark… Light…"

"What are blabbering about, Sam?" Dedede asked.

"…I'm just mentioning my other suits that these alternate suits based on."

"Isn't it nice to wear something that is already familiar to you?"

"Hmph."

Looking at the second picture depicting her other alternate suits, Samus then notices something.

"The black one…"

"Why's that? Is it also based on another one of your suits?"

"No. And I don't think you really remember that black suit when we were training."

"Eh?"

"It's Dark Samus."

"Oh… Your evil counterpart, isn't it? It doesn't really matter in the world of Smash!"

Samus just feels annoyed because of Dedede.

Meanwhile, in Wolf's room, Snake, Wario and Wolf himself are enjoying some feast instead of waiting in the their usual room with the others.

"Yum! I'll never have enough of these!" Wario devours a pile of apples.

"Heh. After the whole time we're waiting, being threatened to be kicked out and failed to find any more leaks, I have to say we have to enjoy our last days in this world." Wolf said as he grabs some bread.

"Being *munch* threatened? *gobble*"

"Oh. You never know? It's a bad thing you didn't join us days ago."

"Eh? I was too busy in my room. I was flooded with those pesky fan art mails!"

"Eheh. You're pretty lucky back there." Snake said as he takes a bite out of a banana.

"Grr… Those mails look like as if they never stop coming! Once I saw a picture of me wearing that blue suit as worn by that Samus! And there's another picture of me looking like a blob! WAH!"

"Your fans seem to be really that obsessive… heh."

"Enough of that, let's keep eating and we'll be all finished, hehehe…" Wolf said to Snake and Wario.

_**Author's Note: I have a feeling that some of the chapters don't look as good as I thought. Because I tend to base my idea on the current "Pic of the Day", the result of a chapter can either end up as being average or pretty lackluster/mediocre/whatever bad impression in it. Also, I'm still trying to improve my writing ever since I stopped writing stories long ago, fanfic or not.**_


	9. Chapter 9: Run! Run! Climb! Climb!

_**Author's Note: Is it me or the fic isn't really "Pic of the Day"-centric anymore?**_

**Chapter 9: Run! Run! Climb! Climb!**

At The Gathering Point, as usual, the fighters are waiting for another update regarding the tournament. However, of all fighters, only Yoshi, Pac-Man, Charizard, Samus and Dedede aren't present yet. The lateness of several fighters seems to be very notable, as other late fighters like Mario, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have just arrived in the chamber a few minutes ago. The other present fighters tried to ask the trio, but none of them can tell anything, thanks to the memory wipe. Another notable thing about the late fighters is that they appear to be more tired and sweaty than usual. It's probably part of a secret training, everyone else thought.

"…Must be a really harsh training." Pit thought.

The center of the chamber begins to light up, signifying an incoming update. While the present fighters begin to focus on the currently-forming holographic projection, the rest of the late fighters finally arrive, also seemingly more tired, except for Dedede, who is simply exhausted from running to the chamber. Pit promptly turns around after hearing their footsteps.

"Dedede! And the others! You're late!"

The newly-arrived fighters can only pant in exhaustion due to them rushing to the chamber. Now, the projection begins to become clearer and it consists of…

…

…a group of three "Smash Run"-related pictures.

Naturally, several of the fighters are not amused. They've seen too much Smash Run pictures, not to mention having most of their training spent on that one specific event. Seeing this, Dedede, considering his duty, tries to clarify.

"Okay, everyone… Sigh… I know some of you might be tired of this new event, but as you see here, some of the fighters are late today and they're clearly more tired than usual. As The Great Creator's assistant, I'm going to explain why. Yes, they were at yet another Smash Run training, but the final Smash Run events were something else. As you can see here, they didn't even actively try to attack each other. Why, you ask? It's because they're actually racing."

"Reminds me of a certain event during Deluxe Tournament…" Marth commented.

"I thought such event already existed as far back as the very first Smash tournament." Fox said.

"…However, it was missing in the X Tournament. By the way, the event's name is "Race to the Finish", if I'm not wrong." Samus said.

"Is that so, you three? I've never heard about that." Dedede asked the three fighters.

"Yes. Because you first participated actively starting from the X Tournament, it's no wonder that some of the fighters here don't even remember about this specific event." Samus replied.

"I hope you don't mind if I explain things a bit. "Race to the Finish" is an event where, exactly as the name says, a fighter must reach the finish spot before the timer runs out. Obviously, there are hazards present as the obstacles." Fox explained.

"Uh-huh. Now that you can help me provide some info, I don't need to explain it again! Thanks so much!" Dedede claps his hands.

"However, for this… um… Smash Run's final event, apparently all of us are competing against each other now?" Marth asked.

"Oh? Of course, it is, Marth! What do you expect from Smash Run's final event? By the way, there are two variations of racing here, everyone. One is the usual on-foot race, while the other has you climbing, or rather, jumping your way to the finish!"

"Oooohhh…"

"Okay, then. Any questions regarding this?"

"I do." Samus raised her hand.

"Okay then, Sam. What is it?"

"Those red spikes. Are those the only hazards here?"

"Hm… I think… yes."

"Disappointing."

"Why?"

"During the early days of Smash Tournament, the first eleven fighters plus myself faced mobile Fighting Polygons instead of what I can assume as static hazard."

"That's the case for the first grand tournament? In the Deluxe Tournament, where I debuted, of course, there are three kinds of hazards: Spikes, lava and a huge bottomless pit." Marth said.

"Huh. Well… it can't be helped, I guess. It's The Great Creator's choice. Oh. About those spikes, he referred to them as Danger Zones, or something like that. Yes, they stay in place, but there are many of them on the course, and if you touch them, you'll be sent backwards. They disappear after you do so, though, so others might get an advantage."

"Still, it's not an interesting update, to say the least." Samus said.

"Once again, it can't be helped, Sam. Very well, everyone. You're all dismissed!"

While the fighters are on their way after leaving The Gathering Point, Dedede and Pit are having a conversation.

"Hey, Dedede. Is it me or we got less food for our lunch today?"

"I think it's true. I mean, I usually eat a lot, but after watching the no-longer-secret training session, all I got were a pile of strawberries and a cup of tea."

"Does The Great Creator have any word on it?"

"No. He never discuss about our food stock. I thought that we can replenish the stock far easier nowadays thanks to the Miis."

"Yeah… but apparently, I've just gotten a word on Miis rebelling against The Great Creator recently. I forgot when exactly I heard about it, but speaking of Miis, I think the rebellion has something to do with it."

"So, in other words, they decided to stop getting some food and cooking because they hate The Great Creator so much now?"

"…"

"Well, Pit… Maybe our fear is getting real this time… I think they're asking to replace us…"

"What are you talking about? We don't know the exact cause yet! Don't jump into conclusions!"

"Urk… sorry."

"Anyway… we, the regular fighters in this Smashverse, pretty much ignore those Miis most of the time, so this might come as a surprise to those who aren't aware of this."

"Should we warn everyone else?"

"I'm not sure. But, Dedede, can you ask The Great Creator regarding this issue? You're his assistant."

"Right! I'm on it! See you later, Pit!" Dedede runs off.


	10. Chapter 10: Multi Menu Melee What?

_**Author's Note: I'm sorry. Late update today. I was attending a seminar, that's why. Also, once again, I have to say that it feels like that this story isn't really that "Pic of the Day"-centric, instead it can branch out to other ideas.**_

**Chapter 10: Multi Menu Melee What?**

A new update has just showed up. It's another group of three pictures. They appear to be the ones that can be seen on the giant screens whenever a tournament is taking place. The first photo shows the main screen, but with the "Games & More" part highlighted, and the matching picture below it features two Miis, Master Hand, a bomb, Mega Man's symbol and Sandbag. The second projected photo shows a sub-screen showing the panels "Solo", "Group" and "Custom", with the "Solo" one being highlighted. It also shows a treasure chest icon with the writing "Vault" below it and a gear icon with the writing "Options". This photo's matching picture shows a screenshot of Mario on a map and a picture of Miis, a bomb and Sandbag. The last photo shows yet another sub-screen showing the panels "Classic", "All-Star", "Training" and "Stadium". The "Classic" panel is the one to be highlighted, so the matching picture below the sub-screen shows the same screenshot of Mario on a map.

"Well… Looks like The Great Creator just decided to show off some of the events featured." Dedede said.

"So, apparently, the main events are inside the "Games & More". It confuses me." Zelda commented.

"I thought those belong inside the "Smash" section." Marth said.

"I wonder what's inside The Great Creator's mind when he came up with this…" Peach wondered.

"I understand that he wants us to know some of the events, as next week will be the last day before the tournament. However, I am not interested in the slightest regarding this update." Samus said.

"By the way, everyone. According to The Great Creator, apart from the ones displayed here and Smash Run, the other events that will be featured include Home-Run Contest, Multi-Man Smash challenges and Target Blast. Keep in mind that this list might not be final, okay?" Dedede clarified.

* * *

"Sigh… What a great update to ruin everyone's hype…" Dedede complained as he walks through the main corridor.

"It's okay, Dedede. At least it's not as bad as the Smash Run ones. I knew that you hate them as well… And, on another note, we've just gotten some new music to listen to!" Pit is walking beside him.

"But, this is the second-to-last week. What was he thinking?"

"Um… You'd better ask that question to him directly…"

"Shut up."

"By the way, how's the report?"

"What report?"

"Don't you remember? About the food shortage and Miis' rebellion?"

"Oh, yes! When I reported about that to The Great Creator… from what I remember, he didn't seem to be in a good mood…"

"Huh? Really? (This won't end well…)"

"When I tried to ask him about those issues… He didn't respond. It's pretty creepy."

"… (It's going from bad to worse…)"

"Also, at his hall, I could feel as if the darkness was about to consume me… So, of course, I ran away."

"Yikes!"

"Yeah… you know what would happen alright if I didn't flee… Even though the whole "darkness consuming fighters" thing never happens, thankfully."

"But it might happen sooner or later…"

When they're about to split up as they approach an intersection, Meta Knight jumps in from the right corridor.

"Whoa! You scared me for a second!" Dedede is surprised.

"Meta Knight! We haven't seen you for days! Where were you?" Pit is surprised as well.

"I'll talk, only if you two come with me tonight. After dinner." the round knight said to both fighters.

"Okay." Dedede said.

"Where exactly are you going to talk…?" Pit asked.

Realizing that there are other fighters walking by, Meta Knight whispers, "I won't tell you, but both of you must follow me after dinner."

_That night…_

Right after dinner, without any second thoughts, Dedede and Pit follow Meta Knight, who dashes through the many corridors in Smash Castle. Occasionally, Meta Knight waits so that the two fighters can catch up, especially Dedede who isn't a fast runner.

Once the three fighters arrive at a room located on the top floor of one of the castle's towers, Dedede and Pit are surprised to see Lucario there.

"No need to be surprised. This is supposed to be Lucario's room." Meta Knight explained.

"Looks like a typical attic." Dedede commented.

"Hush!" Pit hushes the penguin.

"Okay, okay, geez… By the way, I've never seen Lucario's room in this castle, so it's a surprise to me."

"Me too. Also, no wonder Lucario rarely has a dinner with us. He comes back to his room earlier."

"Well, then, you two have to listen to me. Lucario here, meanwhile, will be on the lookout just to keep our conversation secret." Meta Knight closes and locks the door.

"You sure you can trust Lucario for this…?" Dedede becomes worried.

"No need to worry. In fact, he was with me at one time when I was gone."

While Lucario is looking through the only window as part of his duty, Dedede and Pit sit on the floor. Then, Meta Knight begins talking.

"Before I explain, keep in mind that this is the most you can hear from me, because who knows someone might happen to hear our conversation. So, I won't raise my voice, and you two should do the same." Meta Knight said softly, almost to the point of whispering.

After the two fighters nodded in agreement, Meta Knight then continues.

"During those days when I was gone, I was actually patrolling the Mii Chamber. Yes, I abandoned most of my training because of this. The Great Creator is free to blame me, but I noticed something off about that particular chamber."

"What was it? Was it a sign of the rebellion?" Pit asked, also almost like whispering.

"Hm. Where did you get that idea?"

"Uh… I'm not really sure. Oh, wait! I believe I overheard it from someone."

"Then, who was it?"

"I think… it was Wario. When I first heard him, I thought he was speaking nonsense. After that… wait, there's someone else too. Must be Wolf."

"Hmph. Before you can start calling out names, let me continue. I have to admit, it did sound like the Miis were going to rebel against The Great Creator. I don't know when that rebellion actually began. But, the point is that those Miis began to hate their duties and no longer take their specialized training seriously. Also, one particular eerie thing about the rebellion is their purpose. After days of patrolling, I finally could hear what they're going for. The murdering of The Great Creator. I know it's not possible, but if they can provoke him enough, he would summon them into his hall, but consider this fact. The Great Creator, even with his ability to create and control this Smashverse's structure, is still an ordinary person who originated from a completely different universe. Miis are representations of those ordinary people from that same universe, remember. If many of them are summoned into the hall at the same time… The Great Creator will be weakened instead, making him an easy target for those now-mindless Miis. If he's killed, Smashverse will no longer progress. Its time will stop. Nothing will change there. Those who are trapped in a frozen Smashverse will stay frozen eternally. And not just this world. Other worlds greatly associated with The Great Creator will be perpetually frozen too."

"Eek… That's some scary stuff…" Dedede is shaking in fear.

"That sounds worse than I thought… But, Meta Knight, how do you know about The Great Creator so much? You're not his assistant." Pit said.

"I knew about him… because he told me. He summoned me into his hall after a certain patrol I had done. He told me about everything that can happen if such rebellion occurs. He also told me not to share this to anyone else except you and Dedede. By the way, Dedede, he also mentioned that he chose not to summon you to his hall, for obvious reasons."

"No wonder he didn't say anything about it to me… You, as well as Lucario, are the ones who were observing those Miis anyway."

"One more, Meta Knight. Why are you allowed to share The Great Creator's thoughts to me as well? I'm obviously not his assistant, and I only happened to hear about the rebellion all of a sudden back then." Pit asked another question.

"To him, you're assisting Dedede. You give the most support to him despite your opinions regarding Dedede himself."

"Oh."

"Now, back to the issue. The last update before the tournament starts is at the next week. I'm aware of the loss of excitement here, but, regarding this issue, only the four of us plus the two fighters Pit mentioned know or at least aware of the Miis' rebellion. We have to figure out what caused this. Normally, even Miis won't have a thought of physically attacking The Great Creator, in a literal way. We cannot let the whole tournament turn into a chaos."

"Maybe Wolf and Wario are the ones who caused it… I mean, come on, Wolf himself was threatened to be disqualified for this tournament yet is still seething with hatred despite the additional chance. Wolf might be the one who brainwashed those Miis…"

"Pit, unless The Great Creator gives another punishment to those two, do not accuse other fighters regardless of their status. Ever since I was summoned into his hall, he has started to resist the negative influence caused by the rebellion. Accusing other fighters just adds more fuel to the fire."

"Geez… So that's why he didn't respond to my report…" Dedede said.

"He didn't respond? I think he was currently at his worst state that time."

"Urk… The more I think about it, the scarier it is to imagine the darkness in The Great Creator's Hall…"

"It's better to imagine that than imagining your world being frozen for eternity…" Pit said to Dedede.

"Maybe I can stay in someone else's world…?"

"Hush!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! All this talk about murder, frozen world and other stuff just make me feel really uneasy! We can just joke a little…"

"However, Dedede, this is completely serious. By the way, until The Great Creator allows us to spread the bad news, we have to solve this problem ourselves. When doing that, however, we have to avoid provoking the Miis, so that The Great Creator will suffer less pain."

"Gotcha."

"Understood."

Meta Knight then walks up to Lucario to inform him that the three are going to leave the room.

"Lucario, we're all done here. I hope you can come up with a solution as well."

Lucario just nods. Then, the other three fighters leave the room.


	11. Chapter 11: Ready to Fight!

_**Author's Note: Keep in mind that I don't really actively follow any of the SSB4 news aside from the Miiverse posts. So, whatever "event tie-in" I put into this story is just based on what I've clearly seen.**_

**Chapter 11: Ready to Fight!**

This is the final week for the fighters. This Saturday, the opening tournament will begin. After such a long wait, just like the previous tournaments, every fighter from various universes can finally fight each other… for fun, for glory, and for the anxious audiences' excitement.

Of course, The Great Creator still shows off several more updates and holds more training sessions, though not as harsh as the previous ones, in order to not stress out the fighters too much. At this new week, the update is revealed to be…

…a picture of the Vault.

Like the other updates concerning the tournament's content that is more likely to be seen by the audience instead, the Vault just shows off the panels that can lead to contents respective of the panel's name: Trophies, Album, Replays, Sounds, Records, and Tips.

Because of this, the already unexcited fighters simply cannot come up with anything to say about that day's update. To make things worse, Dedede is not present that day, so Pit replaces him for the moment, but he cannot actually explain anything because he's never told by The Great Creator. And so, everyone just walks away, disappointed.

Meanwhile, at a different corridor, the unconfirmed fighters are talking about Wolf, who is apparently missing.

"Wario, Snake, you sure that you haven't found him?" Ganondorf asked the duo.

"Meh. This place is huge! That's just impossible!" Wario said.

"I couldn't agree more with Wario." Snake agreed.

"Sigh… You two… That fighter has gone missing for almost three days… Even in a place as big as this, he should be able to still be encountered by other fighters."

"We're sorry that we're not actually following all of this, but why is Wolf missing?" the ice climbers asked.

"Yeah. I don't follow that at all. I've never heard about a fighter being missing for days…" Lucas said.

"Listen, you kids. Last Friday, there was an event to promote this tournament according to what I heard from the other fighters. I believe it took place some time before the usual Picture of the Day is presented. While you and those weird beings were still busy with your usual training, we, the older fighters, were aware that someone is missing from our group. Last time I saw Wolf was two days before that promo event day. Wario was with me, too." Snake explained.

"Yeah… That's the same thing as me. Only saw him last time at that day." Wario said.

"What did you two do that time?" Lucas asked.

Hearing that question, Wario and Snake can only look at each other.

"What's wrong? Are you going to answer?" Ganondorf glared at the duo.

"Er… well… uh…" Wario is having difficulty to admit about what happened.

"Ugh… Fine, then. Last time, when Wario and I were with Wolf… we were having some kind of feast…"

"You were having some snacks? No wonder you weren't at the waiting room with us!" Popo said.

"Um… yeah…"

"After that, what happened next?" Nana asked.

"That… I don't know. We just went our separate ways."

"Hm… Come to think of it, you were also absent a day before that. Especially Wario." Ganondorf said.

"Wha-? About me… I was being flooded by those stupid fan art mails! Really, my room was full of it. It took days to finally clean up those mess. Yeah, I'm not that kind of person you'd expect, but those mails felt like Poison Mushrooms!" Wario said in panic.

"Actually, Wario is right. In fact, he wasn't with us when we were… uh… interrogating Dedede." Snake said.

Ganondorf just nods. Wario might be right, even though Ganondorf still thinks negatively of him.

Meanwhile, at Dedede's room, several fighters are present. Apparently, Dedede is sick.

"It's okay, folks. It's just a fever. It'll be gone soon, hehe." Dedede said nervously.

"But, if you're sick for days, I don't think Pit here will be that helpful to us." Zelda said.

"Hey! I was just trying my best!" Pit exclaimed.

"Pit, you didn't even explain anything." Meta Knight said.

"Urk… sorry…"

"By the way, fighters. Do you mind if you all leave me, Dedede, Pit and Lucario alone for now?"

"Why, Meta Knight?" Peach wondered.

"There's something important that I just want to say to those three only, especially Dedede."

"You sure about that? We've rarely seen you nowadays, and I've been wondering what's in your mind." Fox said.

"Yeah! I think you must be hiding something from us!" Sonic said.

"…This matter, most importantly, concerns Dedede. Now, I don't want you to get involved with this unless The Great Creator allows you."

"Are you trying to use that as an excuse?" Samus asked.

"No. I mean it. This is for your own good. If you get involved, I know for sure that you won't be able to concentrate on this tournament."

"Yeah. Meta Knight is right, fighters. So, please." Dedede said.

"…Well, then. Let's go, everyone." Samus said as she leaves the room first. Everyone else except for Meta Knight, Dedede, Pit and Lucario follows her.

Once the room only consists of the four fighters and its door has been locked, Meta Knight then asks Lucario to check the aura near the door. Lucario then simply shakes his head, signifying that some fighters might be trying to eavesdrop on their secret conversation.

"Hm. This is difficult." Meta Knight thought.

"So… what do you want to talk about?" Dedede asked.

"Psst… I think we should lower our voice. No one might hear it, right?" Pit suggested.

"I doubt it." Meta Knight replied.

*rumble* *rumble*

"Uh, oh."

"I think The Great Creator has a better idea…"

!

…

….

…..

The four fighters have arrived in The Great Creator's Hall. Even though the rumbling can be felt by other fighters outside and they know that the group has been moved to the hall, those fighters cannot even access the hall normally anyway. No matter how hard they search, it's pretty much impossible to go there by normal means. Only Dedede can actually access by simply walking instead of being teleported, but then again, no one has ever seen him going to the hall that way. There might be a secret path, but it's never known.

"Well, we're here…"

"…Dedede, can you get up? I don't think The Great Creator would like to see you like this."

"That's fine, Pit. He understands me, because… well… he has something important to tell you… regarding my sickness…"

"Yes. I was going to tell you about it, Pit. Lucario and I have seen whatever happening to Dedede that time."

"That time when?"

"Yesterday."

"Guys… please let The Great Creator tell Pit about this."

…

_Yesterday, at night_

"Hey. How are the pop group Miis?"

"Dedede, you're finally here. Unfortunately, even recently-coming guest Miis are not immune to this…"

"Argh!"

"Lucario! Ugh!"

"What the-? Are they watching us?! Ack!"

The Mii Chamber. At that time, it was no longer filled with the Miis you usually know. While they still have their random faces, they appeared as if they're brainwashed. Lucario, Meta Knight and Dedede are the first and, hopefully, only fighters captured by the Miis. Lucario was knocked out by a Gunner Mii, Meta Knight was attacked from behind by a Swordfighter Mii, and Dedede was choked and knocked unconscious by a Brawler Mii.

At the center of the not-so friendly chamber, the three fighters were being tied up. There, Dedede was the first to wake up.

"Wh-what?!"

Every response from the Miis there was said in unison, as if having a hive mind. The monotone voice also made it more unnerving.

"Why are you here…?"

"Um… (I'm scared…)"

"Why can't you answer?"

"Urk… (Looks like I have no choice…)"

"Answer us! Answer us!"

"Are you rebelling against The Great Creator?!"

"Gasp!"

"Urk… Okay, I'm actually aware of what you're all up to, but can't you please say why you're hating him?!"

"We have to eliminate you! We have to eliminate The Great Creator! The Great Creator must die!"

"What?! That doesn't answer my question!"

"Eliminate these useless fighters! Eliminate The Great Creator! Smash world should not exist!"

"Ow… This is useless…"

Every Mii fighter was readying their attack at the three tied-up fighters. Brawlers went to their fighting stance, Swordfighters readied their swords, and Gunners began to charge up their arm cannon. Dedede had no choice but to close his eyes, ready for his death.

…

….

_I'm sorry, Miis…_

_I don't understand your anger…_

_But I shall clear it from you…_

_At this point, I cannot contain this mysterious negative presence anymore…_

_Don't worry, this won't kill you…_

_Now… Dedede…_

…

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

That scream alone pretty much summed up what happened to the Miis. It's never clear what actually happened. No one can actually imagine what's going on with the Miis. No one can actually grasp what The Great Creator did. Fortunately, just like what The Great Creator stated, all of the Miis survived.

_End of Flashback_

"So… The Great Creator, you couldn't handle the negative influences anymore…? I was afraid that you'd end up worse instead!" Pit said.

"Well… at least the Miis are back to their usual selves, but unfortunately, according to The Great Creator, it won't have a permanent effect as long as the source of this rebellion is still there…" Dedede said.

"Also, that outburst alone greatly weakened The Great Creator. If the same rebellion happens again, I don't think The Great Creator can solve the problem the same way." Meta Knight stated.

"Not only that, but that will make my condition worse."

"Dedede… Can you actually tell me what happened when you were possessed by The Great Creator?" Pit asked.

"I can't be sure, Pit. It's something that I can't even explain…"

"Hm…"

"What was that? You actually found the culprit?" Meta Knight asked The Great Creator, who has just told the group something important.

"What? Who? …Huh? I should have known…" Pit said.

"It's Wolf all along, indeed. Even though he was threatened, he still continues to stay negative…" Dedede said.

"No wonder he had gone missing since we got back from the event…"

"I know, but I kinda wonder… Why don't you just tell us earlier…?"

…

"Oh. I see. Because Wolf is involved with this issue, you cannot spread the news like usual."

"Dedede, here's a thought. What did Wolf do to cause this? The Great Creator told us that the Miis that time were brainwashed or something. I don't think it's possible for Wolf to do so alone."

"You have a point there, Pit. There must be someone else who is responsible for this." Meta Knight said.

…

"…Okay, then. We'll try to find the other culprit." Dedede said.

"Remember, all of you. We only have five days left before the opening tournament. If we let those troublesome Miis get into the competition, I'm afraid they're ready with something more sinister." Meta Knight reminded the fighters.

"…What about me? I'm not fully recovered yet! That incident alone gave me this annoying fever!"

"Dedede. It's alright. You can just rest. Let the three of us help you out." Pit convinced him.

After all of that, the four fighters are teleported back again to Dedede's room.


	12. Chapter 12: Now Loading

**Chapter 12: Now Loading…**

Even though the issue with Miis isn't finished yet and the involved fighters are still figuring out who's actually behind it aside from Wolf, those fighters still follow their trainings and wait in The Gathering Point as usual every weekdays. Dedede is one exception as he's not fully recovered yet.

However, it's not really easy to continue on with the daily stuff if there's a problem that at this moment can only be solved by the involved fighters. Those fighters have to avoid talking about it, just to avoid getting everyone else involved. That is, according to The Great Creator. Why he doesn't want to involve the other fighters is still a mystery, for now anyway. Supposedly not to cause too much stress, but those fighters are more capable of fighting in the first place.

At the center of The Gathering Point, Pit once again takes Dedede's place. It's a bit early for everyone to gather today, as there's yet another important announcement.

"Everyone, Dedede told me to make an announcement. We're going to have another event the day before the opening tournament."

"Another one?" Peach asked.

"Yes. It's going to be a big one… for us, anyway. I think it's another promotion for our tournament, seeing that the event will take place the day before…"

"I thought this is already pretty obvious. But then again, I don't really remember whether there was an event the day before the X Tournament or not…" Marth said.

"One more thing, the event will also cover other things, so it's not exactly Smash-centric. So, everyone who has something related to their upcoming work might as well keep this in mind."

Everyone else nods. And with that, all fighters in the chamber then wait for The Great Creator's update, despite no longer feeling excited.

While still waiting…

"Pit." Palutena called.

"Yes, Lady Palutena?"

"We're actually still wondering what happened to you yesterday."

"I thought you can just find out anyway…"

"Pit, I don't have as much freedom as when I'm in our home world."

"Oh, right…"

"We obviously know that you were teleported to The Great Creator's Hall, but even that, we still can't tell what's in your mind."

"Um… I have to admit, Lady Palutena, I wasn't even aware about that until The Great Creator told the truth. Well… Meta Knight started this, so…"

Hearing Meta Knight's name, Palutena promptly turns around to see the round knight, who is now stared at by the surrounding fighters. However, Meta Knight is still as calm.

"Meta Knight… Can you tell us?"

"Hmph. The Great Creator still doesn't allow me to talk about it, so I can't."

"Actually, if he chooses not to share this to us as well, it'll just bother us instead."

"We're part of the Smash crew. We should care for each other." the female Wii Fit Trainer said.

"Yeah! I'm actually having a feeling that this seems very urgent!" Sonic said.

"Please…" Luigi pleaded.

"We're all capable of combat if things get worse. How can't you trust your teammates?" Lucina said.

"I'm sorry. But this is for your own good. …Huh?"

From the main corridor, the still-recovering Dedede is running to the chamber.

"Dedede! Why are you coming here! You're not fully recovered yet!" Pit exclaimed.

As Dedede arrives, the center of chamber projects a hologram, showing a picture of a screen related to the Classic event. There's also another picture that depicts what seems to be a result screen after a stage in that same event is finished. One thing that catches the attention of the fighters is the roller depicting colored icons and numbers on the first picture.

"Now, what is this?" Samus wondered.

Panting from exhaustion, almost seemingly going to pass out, Dedede weakly says, "Oh… huff… the update… ugh… That's how… you will be… huff… rewarded… after a stage… in Classic…"

"Dedede, you're still weak… At this point, you're going to pass out…" Pit said to the penguin.

The other fighters are feeling pity for the assistant. Because of this, everyone in the chamber can't help but ignore today's update.

"Urk… I'm still sick, I know… But I still consider myself alright…"

"Dedede…"

"Actually… I suddenly visit you guys… because of something urgent…"

"Are you talking about…"

"Pit… Meta Knight… Lucario… I'm now allowed… to say to the others… about this issue…"

"Hmph. I knew that this would happen rather quickly." Meta Knight said.

"Okay, now that you're allowed to say it, tell us!" Sonic said.

"…Huh? Oh, yeah… First things first, the most urgent… thing…"

"What is it?" Palutena wondered.

"The Miis… They're back to their chaotic minds… and want to… destroy all of us…"

Everyone in the chamber, who isn't aware of the Mii rebellion, is surprised.

"Back to their chaotic minds… Do you mean that this had happened before?" Ike asked.

"Yes… That's the part that The Great Creator wanted to keep as a secret to me, Pit, Meta Knight, and Lucario…"

"Why didn't he tell us before?" Lucina asked.

"According to him, the Miis can do more harm the more the fighters are involved… That time, I didn't understand why… until now…"

"Why's that?" Pit asked.

"The Miis… can also… mind-control the regular fighters… us."

"No wonder the reason is to keep ourselves safe…" Peach said.

"Apparently… after The Great Creator took a look at Wolf, who is currently imprisoned, he noticed some hints of mind control… That's why."

"Wolf?! I heard from the unconfirmed fighters that he was missing! So that's what happened to him…" Fox said.

"It's never clear… in what form… the mind control is. But The Great Creator happened to find out that there's exactly one Mii who is responsible for that… but it's not actually clear what he looks like… except for his dark aura…"

"Dark aura… We definitely need Lucario to help us." Meta Knight stated.

"Any other things you learned about that particular Mii?" Marth asked.

"Unfortunately… that's the only thing I can learn about him… The Great Creator even admits that he can just capture that Mii himself… but the dark aura is so strong… and also, he's currently at a weakened state right now…"

"Dedede, about the attacking Miis, are they actually in the process of invading this place?" Pit asked.

"…Yes."

"This is bad. If they're going to attack this place, if they managed to take all of us down, oh dear…" Rosalina is worried.

"They'd enter our portals, and considering their sheer number, they'd cause destruction to other universes." Palutena explained.

"I know that I'm not healthy yet… but all of us have to stop the Miis and find that exact Mii I talked about…" Dedede said.

Everyone else in the chamber simply nods, then Pit gives a command to the fighters.

"Listen up, everyone! Considering how huge this castle is, the fact that our chamber is located far away from the Mii Chamber, and there are a lot of corridors that can lead to the main corridor, we cannot stay grouped like this, especially against the seemingly-infinite number of Miis. So, I suggest that we split up to each potential corridor, with some also on the lookout at the main corridor itself, plus few more guarding the entrance to The Gathering Point."

"Understood!"

"Meanwhile, Dedede has to stay here, along with myself. Also, Meta Knight, Lucario, can you two help me here as well?"

Meta Knight and Lucario simply nod in the affirmative.

"Wait, Pit…"

"What is it, Dedede?"

"…We should also inform the unconfirmed fighters."

"We've heard that!" Ganondorf comes out from the waiting room, along with the other fighters.

"Ganondorf! Falco! Ness! And the others!"

"No worries, Pit. We're still waiting in that room, so obviously we can hear whatever you guys talking about." Falco said.

"We're going to help you as well! I'm not sure if The Great Creator allows us, but we can't just stay there and do nothing!" the ice climbers said in unison.

"Beep! Beep!"

"Purin!"

"Heheh. I usually don't bother with you guys, but hearing that those pesky Miis can possibly destroy my world, I just have to." Wario said.

"I think it's time I can properly make use of my skills…" Snake said.

"Everyone… thank you…" Pit is grateful.

"Now… all of you… get into your position… Wherever that is… as long as you can stop those Miis…" Dedede said.


	13. Chapter 13: Ready?

_**LONG Author's Note: Unlike the other, "real-time" chapters, this one takes place right after the previous one instead of the next day after it. The next chapter will be back to the usual format. Seriously, I didn't plan this specific story arc. The basic idea for this fanfic was that it would be kind of silly to make up my version of Smash universe and have the characters wait for and then react to the "Pic of the Day", as well as reacting to stuff like leaks. I also made a sudden "character role"-specific reveal just to make the story more silly. This story arc just… steers away from the basic idea. To be honest, I enjoy writing this arc as much as the older chapters, but… it's not something I'm proud of. You can either like it or hate it, it doesn't matter to me.**_

**Chapter 13: Ready?**

All of the fighters are getting ready in each specific spot where Miis can enter the main corridor. Some are also present at the main corridor itself. While there are so many corridors that make the Smash Castle itself a maze of its own, there are four specific corridors from the Mii Chamber that can lead to the main corridor. Corridor M is the most obvious, as it's specifically made to go directly to the Mii Chamber, even though it still takes about half an hour to reach that chamber by walking. The other potential corridors are corridors S, T and W, with the first one being the most complicated to go through, as it can lead to multiple rooms. Corridor T is a "trap corridor" which also functions as a training place against those traps. Yet, it can also be used to reach Mii Chamber. Corridor W, at first, only led people to the western tower, but it now can be used to access Mii Chamber as well, as it's located not far from it.

At The Gathering Point, Pit makes a plan for the other fighters present in that chamber. Dedede, Pit, Meta Knight and Lucario are pretty much a last resort.

"Okay, Lucario. You can detect auras, right? I'm hoping that you can find the Mii with the dark aura. I doubt that other fighters like us can see it. But, in case if everyone else has been beaten up, go back to The Gathering Point, alright?" Pit said to the Aura Pokémon.

Lucario simply nods, then runs off to the main corridor.

"As for you, Meta Knight…"

"No. No need to command me. I'll just stay here. Dedede isn't suited for fighting right now, and I'm sure that you cannot fight alone."

"Ah. Good point. I almost forgot that."

At the M corridor, the five fighters from Mario's universe are getting ready for a wave of Miis. Suddenly, a rumbling sound is heard, signifying their arrival.

"They're here…" Rosalina said.

Everyone else in that corridor prepares for battle. Mario, Luigi and Bowser are on the front lines, Peach plucks out a Bob-omb from the floor, and Rosalina launches a Luma to the front line.

"I know that there will be many of them, and we have no way to use a Final Smash at this point, so we have to do our best." Rosalina said.

As soon as the first wave of Miis shows up, Peach readies her throw.

"I'm sorry, but I'm stopping you on your tracks, teehee!" Peach throws the Bob-omb, causing it to explode on impact with the mob.

After the first strike, Mario and Luigi leap forward and attack. Using his F.L.U.D.D., Mario sprays water to keep the other attacking Miis away. As for Luigi, he launches himself like a missile to the mob, knocking several more down. After that, both plumbers jump back to their previous position. Then, Bowser runs forward and fires a flame breath.

"Luma! Fire the Star Bits!" Rosalina shouted.

The little Luma then hovers above the mob and shoots out Star Bits, confusing the Miis.

At the T corridor, the two Kongs are preparing for a wave of Miis for themselves. Seeing that the corridor is full of traps, Diddy simply throws several banana peels and waits.

Of course, when the Miis are coming, many of them slip on the banana peels, causing them to trigger several traps. A log falls from the ceiling, part of the floor becomes lava, some high-pressure water is shot from a wall, there are bolts of electricity striking the corridor, among other things. All of that are happening while the primates are laughing in the distance. It then ends with a boulder crashing down and rolls towards the mob. It's pretty easy to stop the Miis in that corridor.

After all of that, Donkey Kong finishes them off with several barrel throws, with the barrels themselves actually containing explosives.

At the maze that is the S corridor, the "dark aura" Mii is leading his army of Miis. He apparently knows the exact route to the main corridor. At another intersection, the leader Mii stops.

"All of you… go to this way… I'll catch up to you…" the Mii points to his left.

Following his order, the mob goes to the left path, leaving that "dark aura" Mii alone.

"I have a better plan… hehehe…"

At the entrance to the S corridor, Link, Zelda and Toon Link are awaiting the mob. Suddenly, Ganondorf walks up behind them, causing the trio to turn around.

"Ganondorf?!" Zelda is surprised.

"Heh… Even though we're enemies in our own world, I still consider all of you to be my allies in this world only."

"Thank you. We really need all the help we can get. I never thought you'll join in."

"If it's to save our world, I can't help but join forces. The other unconfirmed fighters are also on it."

As expected, another mob appears. Link and Toon Link run forward, trying to fight them in close range, while Zelda just stays at her position. Zelda then notices that Ganondorf hasn't moved yet.

"Ganondorf… why are you…"

"Don't worry. I'm planning for my own strike. Most of the time, I often brute-force through, but this time…"

"I understand. But still, help us, even a bit."

Link and Toon Link both perform their spinning attack, taking down multiple Miis in front of them. Another attack is launched to the mob. That attack is undoubtedly Din's Fire. The two Links also throw their own bombs, with Toon Link's bombs causing the Miis to get disoriented due to the smoke after exploding.

"This is my chance…" Ganondorf thought.

"Hey!" someone walks up to Ganondorf.

"Wha-?"

"Let's do the finishing move together!"

As the smoke is about to be cleared, the Miis are surprised by two large figures about to throw their punches.

"Warlock…"

"Falcon…"

"PUNCH!"

The two punches hits two of the Miis, but the shockwave from the attack causes other Miis nearby to get knocked back, which in turn also pushes other Miis behind them.

"Captain Falcon?!" Zelda shouted.

"Heh. I think it's about time that I can show my moves… against those annoying Miis!"

At corridor W, Samus is assisted by Olimar and the ice climbers. They seem to be struggling a bit. Even though the Miis are pathetically easy for them to take down, after several charged shots, thrown Pikmins, and ice shots, the Miis keep on coming. Shortly after, those fighters slowly get tired.

"This is bad… We cannot take down all of them by ourselves! Let's go the main corridor and get some help!" Samus said to the other fighters.

At the main corridor, however, several of those Miis have entered. As a result, the fighters that were supposed to be on guard at each specific corridor ends up fighting in the main corridor.

"Those Miis! They never stop coming!" Fox fires his blaster many times to slow the Miis down.

"They're so many…" Falco said as he fires his blaster as well.

Back in The Gathering Point, Pit, Dedede and Meta Knight are waiting for either Lucario's report or a sudden wave of seemingly-unstoppable Miis.

"Come on, Lucario… Where are you…?" Pit thought.

"Ugh!"

"Meta Knight!"

When Pit looks back, he sees the round knight, completely battered and bruised. Next to him is an ordinary-looking male Mii, having brown hair and eyes and wearing a red outfit.

"Oh, no…"

Suddenly, Lucario rushes back to the chamber, and is surprised to see that Mii. From his point of view, he can see the dark aura engulfing the Mii. Seeing Lucario's reaction, Pit asks him.

"Is that the Mii we're looking for…?"

Lucario nods.

"Oh, boy… If Meta Knight can end up like that… Then, how… how are we supposed to stop him…?" Dedede said.

"Maybe a little talk can do. Let's try convincing him!" Pit said.

As the Mii approaches the three fighters, Pit steps forward and begins asking him.

"Before you destroy us, please listen to me."

"…"

"…What do you want from us?"

"…I want you to die."

"I'd like to know why."

"I. Hate. Anything. Nintendo!"

"Okay, I understand that you hate us, but what made you want to destroy all of us? We never do anything wrong to you. Okay, we're actually quite bitter towards Miis, but we never have a thought of ruining their lives!"

"Nothing! Nothing but hate!"

"Urk… Maybe this is too difficult… How about this? Why are you hating us?"

"…I've been hating on anything Nintendo since I was little. Also, you're so popular that everything else that I like just makes me end up being mocked! It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Well… if you hate us that much, then why are you here?"

"Grr… I got a gift in the form of Wii U for my supposedly special day. The console is horrible! It's a piece of garbage! It has ruined my life! At first, I'd like to throw it away, but then… I discovered the whole Mii avatar thing and the next big thing is supposed to be this lame tournament, so… I took advantage of this so I can just sneak up into this world and plan to destroy all of you. Yes, all of you, including Sonic, Mega Man, and anyone else involved with this world. To my eyes, Nintendo is filth, and any franchise that comes into contact with it is equal to Nintendo as a whole, and I mean it the bad way, of course."

"(Wow… the hate is so strong…) But, doesn't it seem like you're crossing the line here? I mean, all of us have our own haters, but none of them has this kind of extreme ambition…"

"I don't care."

"Hey, Pit." Dedede called.

"Huh?"

"I forgot to tell you. Apparently, he gained more of the negative influence from Crazy Hand. Yes, that Hand has been roaming this castle for long until The Great Creator finally captured him once again. Also, this Mii is now actually weaker than before."

"Really? If that's so, I'll try to keep convincing him."

Pit then walks a bit closer to the Mii.

"Don't touch me, or you'll end up like this loser down here!" the Mii points out the knocked out Meta Knight.

"Look. I understand your hate. We all understand your hate. But, if you want to express your hate by destroying all of us as well as our home worlds, then that's way too far. What did we do to deserve this? Nothing! We never harm you. You just dislike us, and we don't have a problem with that. We also tend to see the Miis in a negative light, but what else do we do to them aside from fighting in the usual Smash way? Nothing!"

"It doesn't matter how kind you are. You still deserve to be wiped out from existence."

"Even then, The Great Creator can just revive us. It's pointless."

"Heh. You think. I've planted bombs in many parts of this castle! Those bombs are actually designed to explode the day before the tournament… but I can just activate them on my own will…" the Mii shows the fighters a remote control.

"You've done this for long?! The Great Creator… how can you not even notice this…?"

"Those bombs were made back when that Hand thing assisted me on doing so, and because of that, it's a guarantee that the bombs can also take down the so-called Great Creator as well, haha!"

"Remember, Pit… Crazy Hand can simply turn invisible and can even make itself undetectable by anyone if it's not kept by The Great Creator himself… It's no wonder that Crazy Hand can do its things without anyone else noticing it… not even The Great Creator himself…" Dedede said to Pit.

"Oh, no… Now what are we gonna do…?" Pit is worried.

"Heh. You're giving up now? Not even with a fight? That shows how lame Nintendo characters are! From what I know, Nintendo never innovate. All I heard about them are just rehash, rehash, casual junk, casual junk, and rehash. Oh, I forgot two more. More rehashes and more casual garbage!" the Mii said.

Slightly in anger, Pit says in a weak voice, "…What if it's your favorite thing getting this treatment?"

"What?"

"What if your favorite thing is suffering exactly like this? Consider this, whatever-your-name-is Mii, all of us fighters here have our own fans. Even the more obscure ones like some of the Assists have their fans. Once again, I have to say this. Even with haters, we still don't mind, at least there are still people who like us as much as you liking your own thing. If we're all wiped out from the existence, the fans will feel devastated. Even if they can move on with other things, I believe that some of them will miss us, but we cannot come back. So, ask yourself. How would you feel if your favorite thing is getting the same treatment as you're currently doing to us?"

"…"

"Also, in your world, I believe there's some kind of punishment if you try to kill people there. If you choose to kill The Great Creator, you'll be the one to suffer instead. At worst, you can suffer for many years. You don't want to lose your freedom, do you?"

…

….

…..

From Lucario's point of view, he can notice the dark aura slowly fading away.

"…I don't want that to happen." the Mii weakly said.

"Hm?"

"I'm always thinking about myself… So much, that I often get into fights against my own friends… My favorite video games are the only things that can keep myself happy… If I lose them too… "

"Remember, that can happen anytime. You'd better off not expressing your hate or anger to us, because we're actually not involved with you. At all."

"…"

"Now, rethink about all your actions before, if you please."

"…Apparently, now you're my enemy too."

"Correct. And that's because of your own doing. Even with the fact that you hate us, you wouldn't gain more enemies if you didn't cause this mess. It's your choice now. Having more enemies and almost no chance of gaining more friends, or having few friends but more unlikely to gain notoriety to many people, that is, if you can manage your friendship carefully. Also, whatever your favorite things are, they just serve as your own entertainment. We fighters here don't usually interact directly aside from the battles with people from that other world, as we're simply a form of entertainment. However, seeing you try to destroy everything in this world, including the other worlds, we have no choice but to talk to you."

"Such mistake… ugh… I don't want more enemies… Now that even video game characters can become my actual enemies…"

"More people will hate you if they find out about the cause of the Nintendo megaverse's destruction."

"… …Urk. What am I going to do…? I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid… What if my favorite video game characters are suddenly against me at this point…? What if they hate me too because of this…? I'm really scared…"

"Hm…"

…

….

…..

_I shall quarantine him._

"The Great Creator!" both Pit and Dedede exclaimed.

_That Mii now has too little negative influence to stop me._

_I'm going to quarantine him for now._

Hearing that, Pit, Lucario, and Dedede only nod. As for the Mii, still in fear, he's warped to The Great Creator's place.

At the main corridor, everyone else, be it a regular fighter or a Mii fighter, is knocked out. As a result, the whole corridor is filled with their unconscious bodies.

_**Author's Note: Somehow, I don't like how the solution turned out. Also, I'm not good with action moments. With that, I consider this chapter my own Worst Fanfic Moment.**_


	14. Chapter 14: Three

**Chapter 14: Three…**

After the mess that happened yesterday, the fighters, be it regular or Mii, can finally relax once a new day starts rolling. Only three days left until the opening tournament, but the excitement hasn't been felt yet.

At Mii Chamber, the update is being showcased. It consists of two pictures. One is the Smash title, while the other shows what's inside the "Tips" panel, which shows, well, tips. There's also some text accompanying the pictures. Apparently, the demo for this Smash is now available… only for Japanese players.

"WHAT?!"

"You're taunting me!"

"Not another interface…"

"I cannot wait any longer!"

The complains come mainly from the non-Japanese Miis, but other than that, the update itself still gets the usual mixed reactions. It's back to the normal days, at least.

Meanwhile, at the main corridor, the fighters have just exited The Gathering Point. They don't look really excited, but at least they're not as disappointed as before. As for Dedede, he's finally back to his healthy self.

"Pit, thanks a lot for yesterday!"

"Nah… Don't mention it…"

"Well, you're the hero, hehe!"

"Actually, I felt stupid talking to that Mii…"

"Dedede." Meta Knight called from behind the duo.

"Oh, it's you!"

"Any new reports from The Great Creator?"

"Hm… he actually explained about the whole Crazy Hand thing."

"Really? Tell us about it!" Pit said.

"Let's see here… Usually, he keeps both Master and Crazy Hand imprisoned unless the tournament starts. But, ever since he had some kind of injury on his shoulder, one of the Hands got away and he couldn't track it down. It is possible that Crazy Hand was at a new level of insane that it chose to give some of its powers to a Mii that was planning to destroy us. Think about it. If the Mii was left alone, he won't be able to cause the Mii rebellion and mind control Wolf, and he would, you know, do something stupid instead."

"Ouch. I was never aware that The Great Creator was having some kind of injury…"

"One more thing. The Great Creator thought that letting Crazy Hand roam the castle is still fine because it's just a single hand, but… oh, my… he was wrong. Apparently, Crazy Hand on its own is still deadly…"

"Hmph. He's just as flawed as we are." Meta Knight said.

"Indeed… Oh! By the way, Meta Knight. I've been wondering again… Is it true that if The Great Creator is killed, our world will be frozen?"

"Actually… for that part, I made it up."

"WHAT?!"

"Ask Samus if you don't believe me. Her world's creator had died a long time ago."

Samus, who has been overhearing the conversation, then speaks before Dedede begins to ask her. "Yes. My world is still fine. Meta Knight only told you like that because you two cannot be taken seriously."

* * *

"Oh, you're indeed going now, Mario…" Peach asked the plumber, who nods in affirmative.

Apparently, right after the update, The Great Creator informed five fighters to go battle at the Battlefield for a test battle. The fighters are Mario, Link, Pikachu, Villager and Mega Man. The battle will use only the standard rule, and there are only a few items and Assists that will be involved. It is said that the test battle can last for a few days in order to show their capabilities to a lot of Japanese audiences.

"Link, see you later…" Zelda bid farewell.

As the five fighters step outside the castle, Mario shouts to the staying fighters, "Good bye!"

"Bye! We'll see you again!"

* * *

At dinnertime, the fighters can finally have their proper portion of feast, meaning more food stuff aside from strawberries.

To make up for the near lack of food in the past few days, the Miis have cooked more food like barbecue, cheeseburger, stew, as well as many other tasty treats for both regular and Mii fighters to enjoy. As usual, it's always Dedede who eats the most.

Meanwhile, the unconfirmed fighters are chatting with each other.

"I totally felt like a true hero yesterday!" Popo exclaimed.

"Silly Popo, you were knocked out by a single bullet." Nana chuckled.

"Never thought we actually had a real battle like that." Ganondorf said.

"I only remember Subspace Emissary when it comes to that, but then again, those aren't actual adventures and battles because it's supposed to be a special movie for those people…" Falco said.

"Gotta agree with that one." Lucas said in agreement.

"Wah, wah. It doesn't matter. At least the world is saved and I don't need to worry about losing my home…" Wario said.

"All of you are such happy people…" Snake commented.

"What's in your mind, Snake?" Ganondorf asked.

"At this point, it's a guarantee that you all will make it to this tournament, even if the announcement happens during that event. I myself consider this Friday to be my final day in this world."

"But, Snake, The Great Creator hasn't announced the disqualified fighters yet. I know, it's been a long time since he announced the Pokémon Trainer and two of his companions getting the boot, but we still won't know what will happen later." Falco said.

"Eh… I was trying to make you feel happy."

"Snake, how are you going to be happy if you stay pessimistic as always…?"

"I'm just a guest fighter in the X Tournament. Unless I'm as lucky as that hedgehog, I can still show up in this tournament. Usually, guest fighters only make a single appearance, with the exception that I stated before."

"Sigh…"

"Snake, sir. I've been wondering about this since a long time ago. Have you ever been in another fighting tournament like this? You know, with people from various universes." Nana asked.

"Heh. Someone finally asked me that question, huh? Fine, I'll answer. I've been in such tournament, but how the fight played out is nothing like this."

"Really? What tournament was it called?" Falco asked.

"It was called Dream Tournament or something like that. From what I heard, it was created to boost a certain channel's ratings. That's kind of ridiculous, at least to me."

"Was it that good? How were you supposed to win there?" Lucas asked.

"I can't say whether it was good or not, not even whether it is better than the X Tournament or worse. About your second question, I believe the fighters have to damage each other to make them drop those "heart coins" or something. If a fighter is getting weakened enough, his or her soul will fly away, and it's up to the other fighters to claim it to disqualify him or her from a match."

"That sounds bizarre…" Falco commented.

"I couldn't agree more. The battle rule alone is already weird to begin with. But I'm glad to share my experience with you all anyway, heheh."


	15. Chapter 15: Two

**Chapter 15: Two…**

"Why do you keep hiding? Come on, don't be shy!" Olimar asked his back-up fighter, Alph.

"…"

"Don't be scared. I'm sure you'll get along just fine."

"I'm just a bit nervous. That's all. This is my first time joining this tournament after all…"

"I was like that when I joined the previous grand tournament. Come now, Alph."

* * *

Another day, another update. Even with the loss of hype during the past few days, seeing that the opening tournament day is getting even closer makes the fighters slowly regain their excitement. And for today, at The Gathering Point, all fighters are anticipating another interface-based update. After all, they've gone through several days filled with that kind of update, so they can't help but expect that, right?

Apparently, they're wrong this time.

The update comes with a pair of pictures, both feature Olimar and Alph, the latter of which is a back-up fighter. Back-up fighters only take the place of the main fighter he or she is assigned to. It's something like the Wii Fit Trainer duo and the Villagers, with the female one being the main fighter for the former and the browned haired male Villager in red shirt with the number 1 on it being the main fighter for the latter.

And for this time, both Olimar and Alph are late. Both of them arrive right after the update is shown.

"Oh, there you are!" Zelda exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. Alph has been hiding for a long time." Olimar said.

"Alph? Is he a newcomer?" Sonic asked.

"Let me answer that." Dedede said.

"Go on, Dedede." Pit said.

"Alph here is a back-up fighter, just like the male Wii Fit Trainer and the other Villagers over there." Dedede points out to the male Wii Fit Trainer, then realizes that the other Villagers are missing.

"Huh? Where are the other Villagers? They weren't leaving with those five, right?" the female Wii Fit Trainer asked.

"Oh. That reminds me. They've just left after lunch in order to accompany the, um, main Villager. It's under The Great Creator's order, but they just left without telling you all. However, I thought only three of them are the ones who are asked to go... Nah. Maybe the other four just watch."

"…I see."

* * *

After the gathering, as all the fighters begin to leave, Dedede walks up to Lucina.

"Excuse me, Lucina."

"Yes, Dedede?"

"I want you to stay."

"Hm?"

"I'd like to tell you that Group B is starting to be filled, but I'd rather have you inform the fighters I'm going to mention. Don't worry. I've informed the waiting fighters earlier regarding this. They should still be waiting in their room."

"Why?"

"It seems that you're the one who is the most reliable to those fighters. Go and give them what they wanted. However, keep in mind that this list is still in progress. Oh, almost forgot. I'll mention the names of the fighters."

Dedede then whispers the names to Lucina.

"Okay, then. I'll go tell them." Lucina runs off to the waiting room.

Opening the waiting room's door, Lucina sees the group of unconfirmed fighters. Dedede is right after all.

"Huh? Lucina?" Ganondorf said.

"Yes. It's me again. Dedede said that Group B has begun to shape up. So, I'm going to tell you who will go with me. However, I'm not sure if you can just show up at The Gathering Point without surprising everyone else…"

"It's okay. Maybe we can just stay here for a little more." Falco said.

"Well, then. Now you all listen up."

Intense. That's what the fighters are feeling. Even though Group B isn't complete yet, they still fear that any of them will not make it, especially the ones who were threatened by The Great Creator back then.

"Here I go. …Ganondorf, Falco, Mr. Game and Watch, Ness, Wario. You five are in."

"Hehe, I knew it." Ganondorf said.

"Ah… That's another weight off my shoulders. Actually, I also expected myself to come back." Falco said.

"Beep! Beep!" Mr. Game and Watch jumps in joy.

"Yes! I'm so glad! Even though it's should be obvious for me, heheh!" Ness finally spoke up.

"It's about time for you, red cap, to speak up. Anyway… YES! Just… YES! I'm ready for round 2!" Wario excitedly said.

Noticing the unmentioned fighters' worried expression, Lucina says, "Don't worry. The list isn't final yet. I'm sure that all of you will come back anyway. I know… there's always a possibility that some of you might not return… but you won't know until you find out, right?"

"Thanks, miss Lucina." Popo said.

"After all, the list is still very short!" Nana said.

"Hm…" Lucas is still worried.

"It's alright, buddy. I'm sure you'll come back." Ness tries to convince the other striped shirt-wearing boy.

"Purin…?" Jigglypuff is worried as well.

"No worries, Jigglypuff. We're not mentioned yet as well. I'm sure all of us can join in." Popo said to the Balloon Pokémon.

"I'm fine with this." Snake said.

"Everyone. From this point on, the rest of you just hope that you'll make it to this tournament, alright? Even if The Great Creator has threatened you before. Even if you might be possibly unworthy. I mean, look at me. I never expected myself to be in this tournament because I have similar skills as Marth." Lucina tries to cheer up the unmentioned fighters.

"ALRIGHT!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Dedede and Pit are chatting with each other while walking through the main corridor.

"So, Dedede. Every part of that leak is true after all?"

"Yep. No doubt about it."

"Does that mean…"

"Yeah, Pit. It's inevitable that you're going to face him…"

"Hmph…"

"But look at the bright side. At least there will be a lot more participants than the previous tournament. However…"

"Huh?"

"The leaked roster isn't complete yet. I'm kinda wondering how many regular fighters will be there... I'm also wondering if all of the waiting fighters are in anyway or not…"

"Yeah. Come to think of it. We were told that the number of confirmed participants keeps growing with every grand tournament."

"Indeed. And about the waiting fighters, so far the only ones to be kicked out are the Pokémon Trainer and two of his Pokémon, leaving only Charizard."

"Hm… Maybe this tournament will have less cuts?"

"I hope."


	16. Chapter 16: One

**Chapter 16: One…**

Now, it's the last day before The Fourth Grand Tournament begins. The fighters' excitement is back, as if they had their bad memories wiped by The Great Creator, except it's actually not. Mario, Link, Pikachu, Mega Man, and all eight Villagers have arrived after some test battles and are now gathering with the others in the usual chamber. Currently, everyone is curious about the promised event, as well as the complete Group B list.

Suddenly, Dedede tells the fighters.

"Everyone. The Great Creator told me that he'll directly see us in this chamber. He'll interact with us using Master Hand."

Soon after Dedede said that, the ceiling door opens to reveal Master Hand hovering down to The Gathering Point.

It is very rare for The Great Creator himself to directly interact with the fighters except when inside his hall. Other times, he uses Master Hand. Whenever he does the latter, somehow his voice can be heard very clearly compared to when he "speaks" in his hall. To the fighters who are new to this kind of thing, this can surprise them. Usually, there's something very important if this happens.

_Fighters… I have something to say before I proceed to today's update. All of you have to listen up, as this concerns the past incidents, as well as the reasons why some of the fighters are not present for a certain tournament._

In response, all of the fighters just nod, then they all sit on the chamber's floor, ready to listen to The Great Creator's explanation.

_First things first, concerning the incidents regarding the fighters threatening each other or planning to destroy the whole world. Those of you who were involved in the Deluxe Tournament, do you still remember that one incident?_

All of the involved fighters just nod in affirmative. Then, The Great Creator continues.

_For those who don't know, don't worry. I'm going to explain about it. During that specific tournament, I decided to create another being that should be able to team up with Master Hand, thus making the fight more challenging. And about Master Hand itself, while in the very first grand tournament it was simply a simulated being in a virtual world I made just for that tournament, for the second one I decided to actually bring it to life. For that, I also created a special core that acts as its soul. I made it using a special kind of material almost as close to dark matter, but won't cause too much trouble. I called the final product the Master Core. Even if it's broken, I can simply fix it easily. That's why you can face Master Hand multiple times. Now, back to my first part of explanation. That secondary being was made using part of the Master Core, but I added some plain dark matter to make it act differently from Master Hand. That's how that being, Crazy Hand, came to life. At first, I thought it won't mean any trouble, just adding more challenge. However… that's where I'm wrong. At one round, I just noticed something wrong with Crazy Hand. The challenger was Roy, and I have to admit he was doing very well. But all of sudden… Crazy Hand began to slam him repeatedly, and violently. I thought it was still part of its actions, but it got worse. Crazy Hand then tried… to suffocate him, while at the same time actually trying to crush his entire body._

The fighters who knew this for the first time are shocked, with some gasped in horror.

_I swear, I could hear Roy's muffled scream. I know that you'll be turned into a trophy if you die in this world, but something was just definitely off about that case. It's true that Crazy Hand tried to kill him, but I then noticed something coming out from its palm. Dark matter. Realizing that, I quickly took control of Master Hand and stopped the other hand, thus forcing that challenge to end. At first, I wasn't really aware about any side effects caused by that act, until I noticed Roy's change of behavior that happened far later. I finally ended his involvement with the Smash tournament after he attempted to kill Dedede. I also disqualified Young Link and Mewtwo because the negative influence had been transferred to them after a long time staying in the waiting room together. Don't worry about them returning to their respective worlds, the effect of the dark matter will not be present there. I'm still hoping that the effects can just go away after some time, but even after a long time, I still fear that the same incident will happen again. But then again, the case involving threatening Dedede was repeated, only this time it was caused by a brainwashed Wolf._

"Wait! Does that mean that the other waiting fighters have a potential to be infected like the past fighters?!" Meta Knight suddenly asked.

_For this case, though, they will be alright, Meta Knight. The reason is that during the preparation for the X Tournament, I changed Crazy Hand's characteristics so that it will not cause that same problem in the past. Sure, it's already weak beyond belief as of that tournament, but apparently, I never realized that it could affect the Miis. I believe that Crazy Hand chose the most hateful Mii to perform an insane mission. Unlike the previous case, however, Crazy Hand is hard for me to track down because it often rendered itself to be undetectable by myself. Even after I let Master Hand loose, it was still difficult. How does this have anything to do with Wolf? Well, the Mii who was Crazy Hand's minion can affect other Miis, but when it comes to regular fighters like you, he could only affect Wolf. Keep in mind that Crazy Hand's main minion has more brainwashing capabilities because of his trait, which is the only possible way for that capability to work even on regular fighters. But after another observation, it appears that only certain fighters can be affected anyway._

"One thing for sure is that Wolf is already, um, not that friendly to begin with." Fox stated.

_Wolf must be very unlucky to encounter the affected Miis. However, when it actually happened to Wolf was still unclear. The negative influence was steadily growing that time, and I began to lose my concentration. That's why I often lost track of whatever Crazy Hand and its minions were doing. Also, keep in mind that I was suffering from an injury and, because of that, Crazy Hand took this opportunity to run away from me. The good thing is that Wolf cannot affect the other regular fighters, under the condition that you must be aware of his actions._

"Hm… if that's the actual cause, are you still forgiving Wolf, as well as Snake?" Dedede asked.

_I forgive them. However, that still doesn't mean they're guaranteed to join this tournament. As for Wolf, I've sent him back to his home world, with the same reason as Roy, but replace other regular fighters with Miis, because we're accepting them nowadays._

"So… Wolf is disqualified, huh?" Fox said.

_Yes, sadly._

"Let me get this straight. So Crazy Hand was very unstable back then? And since then you tried to… um… "stabilize" it?" Palutena asked.

_Correct._

"Excuse me, The Great Creator. Now that you've mentioned why some of those fighters were disqualified, can you also tell us why certain fighters like Dr. Mario and Pichu were kicked out?" Zelda asked.

_That's what I'm going to talk about next. Now, first things first, Dr. Mario and Pichu were disqualified because of their lackluster performance, with Pichu itself being the worst. In other words, they're not worthy for the X Tournament. As for the Trainer and two of his Pokémon, it's more because of the high demand for Charizard to go solo. I could just split the team, but both Squirtle and Ivysaur are often ignored by the crowd, so it seems pointless for me to include them again if they cannot impress the audience._

"That's pretty sad, really. Well… regarding the Pokémon Trainer, I mean." Peach said.

_Now, for Group B. As I mentioned in the paper I gave to Dedede, this group will have far less fighters than the massive Group A. I'm not going to mention Group C because this one is handled by Miis that I specifically asked to handle it. I've already mentioned some to Dedede, but there are still more, with some of them being newcomers… and only one of them being a returning fighter from the Deluxe Tournament who was missing in the X Tournament._

"Woah! Really?! Who is it?" Pit asked in excitement.

_I'm not going to tell you. All of you have to find it out yourselves._

"Um… The Great Creator! Can you mention more fighters to me, please?" Dedede asked.

_I will, but that will be later._

"Okay, then! By the way, what's the update for today?"

_Actually, it's not something exciting. It's better to be shared at Mii Chamber than here. Don't believe me?_

Master Hand then projects two holographic pictures from his palm. They're just pictures related to online features.

_See? These aren't worth to be shared. But I have no other idea what to share right now, because tomorrow's the big day for all of us. The opening tournament is the Group A fighters' opportunity to steal the crowds' attention, because for that tournament, it's just for fun. By the way, about today's event, you'll have to leave the castle tonight. So, fighters, make sure you've gotten enough sleep this afternoon._

* * *

After all of the fighters sans Dedede and Lucina have left The Gathering Point, The Great Creator, still using Master Hand, gives a paper to Dedede. It contains the complete Group B list.

"So… no changes to Group A, right?" Dedede asked.

_Definitely. Now, if you excuse me…_

After all of that, Master Hand leaves the chamber via the same opening on the ceiling.

"…Dedede." Lucina called.

After reading through the list, Dedede's expression changes to being worried.

"Um… any other fighters I should inform?" Lucina asked.

"…Yes. Come here."

Dedede then whispers the names of the fighters. Hearing that, Lucina then asks, "What about the other…"

"Just tell them the truth."

And so, Lucina runs to the waiting room's door. Lucina begins to hesitate on opening it, considering that she's going to deliver a bad news to the waiting fighters. However, she takes a deep breath, then slowly opens the door.

"Oh. It's you, Lucina. We've heard that Wolf has been kicked out, but we don't really worry about it too much." Falco said.

"We're still waiting here, just in case if there's another news related to us." Lucas said.

"Huh? What's wrong, Miss Lucina?" Nana noticed her worried face.

"...I think I don't like where this is going." Popo said.

"…Dedede has just gotten a full list for Group B and told me about the other returning fighters."

"Well, then. Who are they?" Ganondorf wondered.

Lucina takes another deep breath, then says, "Jigglypuff, R.O.B., both of you are in."

"Purin!" Jigglypuff bounces happily, while R.O.B. performs a robotic dance.

"And… th-that's it. The rest is filled… with newcomers… and a returning Deluxe Tournament fighter who wasn't present in the X Tournament…" Lucina finishes her short announcement.

"Are… are you sure that's it?" Nana worriedly asked.

"Y-yes… I'm sorry. I know this hurts, but the rest of you cannot join this tournament…"

"B-but… we've been knowing everyone for so long… and we've just met you for not as long…" Nana begins to sob. Shortly after, Nana covers her face with both hands, crying.

"Nana…" Popo tries to calm the pink ice climber down, while he himself has tears welling up in his eyes.

"Ice climbers… I understand. But it's all The Great Creator's choice. …It's been good knowing you." Lucina hugs both ice climbers.

"So, I'm not in… I knew it." Lucas said.

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I guess I'm going solo again like usual… I know that there's still Jeff, but he's still an Assist… I can't believe I can only meet you during the previous tournament. I'm going to miss you…" Ness said to Lucas.

"I've already told you all about my case. I'm just a guest fighter. Unless I'm lucky, there's just no point of me joining another tournament like this." Snake said.

"Well then. It's been fun knowing you." Falco bids farewell. Ganondorf and Snake then shake hands.

* * *

At night, before the active fighters begin to leave, they all gather in The Gathering Point to bid farewell to the disqualified fighters.

"I never thought that you will have to leave so soon, but… it's all up to The Great Creator. Especially you two, the ice climbers, who actually stayed for quite long until now." Dedede said.

"I… I know, Dedede. I was hoping we can stay longer…" Popo is slightly sobbing.

"Lucas, stay strong. Don't let this make you feel completely devastated." Meta Knight said to Lucas.

"…Okay."

"Snake, I enjoyed fighting against you. I can't believe you're going!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Heh. You little… annoying… thing. At least I'm free from you now." Snake is somehow relieved.

"Well, then. We're going now. …Come on, Nana." Popo holds Nana's hand, then the two walk to the first portal corridor. Lucas also follows suit. Meanwhile, Snake walks on his own to the second portal corridor, which leads to non-Nintendo megaverses.

From the fighters facing the first portal corridor, "Good bye, ice climbers! Good bye, Lucas!"

From the fighters facing the second portal corridor, "Farewell, Snake! It's been nice meeting you!"

"We hope to see you again!"

_**The End**_


	17. Extra Chapter 1: You Deserve a Trophy

_**Welcome to the extra chapter of this fanfic! It'd be better if you read the main chapters first before deciding to jump into this one, no matter how many spoilers from the (just-released) SSB4 3DS are. I might add more if I still have more ideas. By the way, extra chapters tend to be way shorter.**_

**Extra Chapter 1: You Deserve a Trophy**

Today is the second day of the opening tournament. Even though it's taking place at Sunday, the fighters don't mind as long as they can impress the audience. For today's event, it's the Survival event, where fighters have limited amount of "lives" before they're completely eliminated from a match. Yesterday, Shulk won the Timed event, where fighters gain score from KOs as much as they can, but only the one with the most score can move on to the next match.

However, all of this can only be enjoyed by Group A fighters right now. Group B fighters still have their own training and even with everyone else revealed for the group, they're still not going to take part in the opening tournament until The Great Creator says so.

During a break, the fighters are resting in Smash Castle like usual. Pit, who is one of the Group A fighters, is resting in his room.

"Whew… That was rough, but at least I can defeat Bowser, Falcon, and Link… My next match is going to be against Meta Knight, Marth, and Pikachu. I hope it's not as difficult…" Pit thought.

*knock* *knock*

"Huh?" Pit gets up from his bed, then approaches the door.

After Pit opens the door, he looks down to see a package, a carton-covered box. Pit then holds the package and tries to check the "address" destination, but he can't find any. Curious, he rips the carton cover and opens the box.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucina is also taking a break from her training and is gathering with the other Group B fighters at The Gathering Point.

"Lucina!" Pit yelled.

"…Pit?" Lucina turns back to see Pit running towards her group.

Panting from exhaustion as he arrives, Pit tries to talk to her.

"Huff… huff… Lucina… I… have something… to show you…"

"Pit, don't lose your breath. Calm yourself down a little."

"Okay…"

After Pit takes a deep breath and relieves himself from the exhaustion, he can finally talk properly.

"Lucina. I've just gotten this box that isn't clear where it should be sent to. I thought this is supposed to be my package, but I have a feeling that it's better to give this to you instead."

"Why's that?"

"Take a look inside!"

Pit gives the box to Lucina, who then proceeds to open it and take its content. Lucina is surprised to see that the box contains a trophy. A trophy of the ice climbers duo.

"It's a trophy of the ice climbers…"

"Yeah. That's why. I heard from Dedede that you get along with the back-then unconfirmed fighters very well, especially with the ice climbers. I can simply say that it's just a trophy for our gallery, but seeing your relationship with those fighters make me feel that this specific trophy is supposed to be a memento for you."

"…Thank you, Pit."

Suddenly, one of the Group B fighters, Bowser Jr., begins to ask. "Who are the ice climbers?"

Hearing that, Lucina faces her group and tells them. "The ice climbers were a duo of fighters. They worked as a team in battles. They only appeared in Deluxe and X Tournaments, but I got to know them because before many other fighters were announced, I was able to get along with them, along with other veterans."

"Believe me, newcomers, the parting really hurt us." Falco said.

"But compared to Dr. Mario and Pichu's case during the preparation for the X Tournament, the sadness was really felt." Ness said.

"However, I do really wish if there's another grand tournament, I wish the ice climbers can join in once again… even if I won't be able to participate…" Lucina looks at the trophy.

_We're also looking forward to facing you in a match or two!_

_**End of Extra Chapter 1**_


	18. Extra Chapter 2: Lost Pal

**Extra Chapter 2: Lost Pal**

This week, the Group B fighters have been actively participating in the opening tournament. This particular week is also considered to be the last week for that tournament, as at this Friday the main tournament will begin. Currently, this is the last day before the main tournament starts. So far, the confirmed winners for the opening tournament include Shulk, Mario, Kirby, Sonic, Mega Man and Pac-Man. Yes, even with Group B being active, all winners are still from Group A as of that time.

After the very last match, the opening tournament is declared to be done. The last two winners are Lucina and Ness, both from Group B. And so, the opening tournament winners are awarded with an actual, not figurine-like trophy each, as well as a lot of gold.

One afternoon, Ness is outside the castle, sitting under a tree and staring at the sky. Lucina notices him, so she decided to approach the boy.

"Um. Hi, Ness."

"Oh. Miss Lucina." the boy is slightly surprised.

"You were very happy a few hours ago. What happened?"

"…Is it bad that I miss Lucas so much? I mean, some of my alternate special moves keep reminding me of him…"

"No, it isn't, Ness. Why are you asking that? It's normal for people to feel that way when they lose their closest friend."

"Sigh…"

"I guess Lucas means so much to you. Well, your other friend is an Assist, so…"

"No. It's actually that I feel bad for him. He has a rough life… I cannot imagine what is happening to him at his home world… Ever since he participated in the X Tournament, he began to forget his troubles and accepted all of us fighters as a family for him, no matter how much hate he got from several audiences. Now that he's back to being lonely again…"

"…Hm. Well, now I understand…"

"Miss Lucina. This parting is different from the one before the X Tournament. During the Deluxe Tournament, we were just like, you know, typical friends. During the X Tournament, however, we were like a family instead. Remember what The Great Creator said? Some of the disqualification was caused by none other than Crazy Hand, and even with two fighters not joining the X Tournament not because of Crazy, it wasn't as sad as this. Dr. Mario, for one thing, was a generated Mario clone, and while we actually were sad to see Pichu go, it doesn't beat this one. Remember when you actually felt sad when the ice climbers were kicked out, even though you've just met them for a short time?"

"Ness. I know. I understand. But, farewells are inevitable anyway. Also, why go from talking about feeling bad for Lucas to the sorrow of seeing disqualified fighters in general going?"

"I dunno. I must be really depressed… even after celebrating my victory…"

"Ness, you have to get over it. Actually, I'm just as sad, but I just don't bother thinking about them too much. Also, consider the fact that they might return some day, much like Dr. Mario."

"Well… you're right."

"On the other hand, I think Lucas will still be fine in his home world. Things may have changed."

"You have a point there, Miss Lucina."

"So, what do you say?"

After taking a deep breath, Ness says, "Okay. No more angst. I still need to focus. I can still remember Lucas, but I'm not going to let the sadness affect my performance!"

Lucina then smiles. Suddenly, Dedede shows up and scolds them.

"Hey! What are you two doing there?! It's getting dark and you're going to miss your dinner!"

Without any hesitation, the two Group B winners follow Dedede back to the castle.

_**End of Extra Chapter 2**_


	19. Extra Chapter 3: It's on the Way

_**Author's Note: Just done watching the 50-Fact Extravaganza stream on YouTube, and apparently something interesting made me want to make this Extra chapter.**_

**Extra Chapter 3: It's on the Way**

The Fourth Grand Tournament. As announced by The Great Creator, it was divided into two half-tournaments, or something like that. Each half has its own winners. Now that the first half of the grand tournament has been announced to be done, the fighters are concentrating on the second half, which will begin next month.

At The Great Creator's Hall…

"So, apparently the second half will be longer, right?" Dedede asked.

As usual, there's only silence after every question. Suddenly, Dedede has a surprised reaction as if he's hearing another major announcement.

"WHAT?! REALLY?!"

Another silence.

"Uh, huh. If that's the important news, I'll tell everyone now!" the penguin runs off.

In Smash Castle, everyone is enjoying their time. Relaxing, hanging out with other fighters… stuff like that. However, their relaxation abruptly ends as a very loud alarm is heard, followed by Dedede's announcement.

"Attention, regular fighters. We've just gotten a big news! Hurry up to The Gathering Point and I'll explain it!"

Without any hesitation, the regular fighters rush to the mentioned chamber. There, Dedede has been waiting.

"Dedede! What's up?!" Pit asked.

"What's this news you're talking about?" Peach wondered.

As soon as the alarm stops, Dedede answers the question from the confused fighters.

"Everyone. First of all, remember when The Great Creator said that there would be a returning fighter who only appeared in the Deluxe Tournament?"

Everyone nods.

"After I talked to The Great Creator today, apparently… there's another."

"WHAT?!"

"Ehem. This fighter is specific to this second half of the grand tournament, but will join us far later."

"I have a question. Who is that fighter? I wasn't part of Deluxe Tournament, much like some other fighters here." Ike asked.

"Good question. The returning fighter is… Mewtwo."

"WHAT?!"

"Really?!"

"That Mewtwo?!"

"I thought he would not come back again!"

"I'm actually kinda scared…"

The fighters' reactions are mixed, but as a whole, everyone is surprised. Some are worried, though, considering the past incident during the events between Deluxe and X Tournament. Dedede just sighs, though, as if he knew that the reaction would be like this.

Suddenly, Pit walks up to Dedede and asks, "But, Dedede, The Great Creator fears that the negative influence is still present. Why would he want Mewtwo to return?"

"Hm. From what he said to me, he seems confident that nothing can go wrong. I mean, Crazy Hand is more stable this time and The Great Creator can control both Hands easily nowadays. He's sure that the negative influences have been gone by now. I can't guarantee this, though. We just have to wait."

"Wait? How long?"

"Until the next spring. Yes, he did say that. Also, he mentioned that this half of this grand tournament will be a lot longer. It may take a few months, or probably a year or two. Yeah… the usual grand tournament length."

"But… if it can last even two years or more, it will make this grand tournament the longest! Wow!"

"Now, now, Pit. I don't think you're right about that, heheheh."

"Heh. But anyway, I can't wait to actually fight Mewtwo in a grand tournament!"

A few minutes later, the fighters are dismissed and back to their activities. As Dedede walks to the main corridor, he thinks, "I wonder how the Mii fighters would react if this news reached them…"


End file.
